


Balance of Power

by dentigerous, wraithnoir



Series: The Corruption of Ben Solo [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bloodline Compliant, Character Death, Corruptor Hux, Dark Side use of the force, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Force boners, Hux Backstory, Jealous Armitage Hux, Jealous Kylo Ren, M/M, Mental Control, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Smuggler Ben Solo, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-13 05:26:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 82,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7964182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dentigerous/pseuds/dentigerous, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wraithnoir/pseuds/wraithnoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ben Solo comes back aboard the <i>Finalizer</i> after six months away, he comes back as Lord Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren. He's no longer waiting on Hux's approval or his time, he's a commander of the ship, the same as any other officer. Arrik watches the Knight and sees another power, another challenge, and one he's determined to bind close. </p><p>They're travelling towards Hux's superweapon, but along the way they face betrayal from inside the Order and out, come nose to nose with the Resistance, and through it all, must come to terms with their own evolving relationship. Ben and Arrik can no longer deny what they've been dancing around for nine months, and they come together violently, passionately, and their obsession is no longer hidden behind closed doors or even closed minds.</p><p>They should have been more careful, but desire creates monsters out of men, and emperors out of officers.</p><p>(Or the AU where Ben doesn't go dark side as a teenager, becomes a smuggler, and Hux corrupts him instead. Part 5.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the amazing response! Here's a full-length part of the Corruption arc, Balance of Power! For all you newbies (we love u, thanks for looking in), [HERE](http://archiveofourown.org/series/461893) is the series page, [HERE](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6804667/chapters/15539137) is the first installment and....[HERE](http://tigernoir.tumblr.com/) is our kylux tumblr! Come say hi, plz. 
> 
> we appreciate every response we get from everyone, it really is very sweet and kind and makes us feel great and appreciated and loved. enjoy this one. -tiger&wraith
> 
> T/W: sex!

In his own berths, Hux was focused on the man spread out on the bed in front of him. He laid his hands over Tracks’ lower back, pressing him down onto the bed. The moans and eager noises the trooper made were incredibly satisfying, and Hux dragged his fingernails along the man’s sides. The trooper was around his own age, with short curly hair and the beginnings of a beard that was definitely against regulation. All Hux cared about was the way the man spread his legs when he was fucked, how pleased the trooper was to have the General take control, the noises he made when Hux’s hips pressed against his ass.

Hux reached forwards, grabbing Tracks’ arms and pulling them back, holding his wrists just above the curve of his ass. The trooper just made another pleased groan, pressing back against the General, who continued to thrust into him slowly, holding him still, controlling him.

When the main berth door slid open, Ben Solo walked in with the general’s name already halfway out of his mouth. He wasn’t sure what rotation they were on, but he was pretty sure this was Hux’s off cycle. Since he wasn’t been sitting in his main room with the ever-present datapad, Ben figured he had to be in bed. He’d never been in Hux’s rooms on the _Finalizer_ before. They were simple and tasteful, the extreme version of the changes he’d made to his family’s house on Arkanis. He looked over from a shelf with several holo cubes stacked neatly on it when he heard, or felt, or both, activity from the bedroom. He wondered if Hux was exercising; maybe it was early rather than late, and he’d just woken up. He walked toward the other door, frowning when he kicked a white greave out of the way. Stormtrooper armor. There was no reason for stormtrooper armor to be lying around on the floor of the general’s room.

Moving with a little more urgency than his purposeful but slow journey from the hangar to this point had required thus far, Kylo Ren—no, Ben Solo—shoved the door on its close-fitting hinges. It groaned in protest as he used the Force to push it open. The sound was unmistakable at close quarters. Rhythmic, with the edge of pain that quick intimacy had. Flesh on flesh.

There was a second of staring, of comprehension that was quicker than he wanted it to be. A quiet part of him muttered, _You should have knocked_. But he wasn’t that person anymore.

Hux turned, his face red and open, his fingers digging into the trooper’s hip harshly. His grip on Tracks’ wrist tightened and then man arched up, not quite registering that there was someone else there. The general, still half clothed, still inside the trooper, was speechless, his mind jumping to the schedule, reassuring himself that he hadn’t made a mistake, just hadn’t considered all the factors.

What other Knight was coming on the _Finalizer_? What other man would barge into his private rooms? He leaned forward slightly, feeling a surge of rage in his chest.

Ben had returned early.

With a noise that was distorted through the vocoder on his helmet, Kylo Ren threw his hand out to the side then yanked it toward himself. The motion was followed by the collapse of one of the shelves bolted to the wall by the bed. Even as items were still falling, he turned and strode out of the room.

Fury propelled him forward, but he didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know where he was even supposed to be staying for the duration of the trip. But he needed to find somewhere before the emotions built up to a breaking point, before the choked sounds in his throat had sufficient voice.

He stood for a silent moment in the TIE sim room, breathing harshly and looking around at the still screens that awaited activation. The rest of the room was dim, and he thought he had it back, his control, that he could imagine the little lights from the panels as a candle in his uncle’s meditation chamber.

Five minutes later he was standing before the wreckage of the sim controls, some disconnected wires still sparking, not knowing they were dead yet. He heard his breath like a storm inside his helmet and his knuckles ached from holding the lightsaber hilt so tightly. He didn’t even remember unclipped it from his belt or turning it on. He swallowed as he took in the damage, then he turned and walked out of the room.

This wasn’t his mess to clean up anymore.

He walked up to one of the officers’ observation lounges and curled his long body into one of the window seats. He’d only been in there a minute before the room had emptied, leaving him alone watching the stars.

Hux was furious. Six hours. Six kriffing hours. It had even taken a few seconds for him to register that he had been _walked in on_. By Ben-kriffing-Solo. That had never happened, not even as a child, and here he was, a general on board his own ship and he couldn’t even have privacy for this?

He shifted and pushed Tracks onto the bed, putting his hand against the back of his neck as he fucked into him hard, leaning over him as he came, growling and gasping. Hux swallowed and didn’t give himself much time, barely soft before he pulled out and tucked himself away, still angry and now disheveled on top of that.

“Get dressed,” It was a sharp order, and Tracks turned over, surprised and slightly confused. He watched the general’s retreating back and didn’t say anything as he gathered up his dark clothes, eyes searching out the bits of armor. Tracks swallowed his disappointment at the obvious dismissal, inclining his head as Hux got into the refresher chamber. He muttered a quick, “Thank you, Sir,” found his helmet, and left the berth quickly.

Hux stripped, got under the showerhead and washed himself quickly, letting his anger go as best he could. Truth be told, he hadn’t recognized Ben at first, wearing a mask like the other Knights, but it was obvious who it was. Of course this would happen. He pressed his head against the compound glass and allowed himself a few more minutes of annoyance, pushing down any shame he might have felt.

He still had so much to do.

He got out, changed into a fresh uniform, ordered a droid come in and clean up his rooms (usually he would do it himself but he had to go deal with Ben Solo) and he headed towards the bridge, frustrated that Ben didn’t have a cylinder he could track. He remembered how the man had acted on Arkanis when he had merely suspected that Hux and Ems were engaged in a relationship. Although relationship was a very loose term for what he and eEms shared, all things considered.

Hux sent out a few short notices to only a handful of officers, but one of them responded quickly with a short report that the Knight was in an officer’s observation deck. Hux gave temporary control of the bridge to Mitaka and headed to the lounge.

The doors opened and he stepped through, looking over to find Ben, still dressed as a Knight. It seemed strange now, that this wasn’t just Ben trying on a uniform or a costume, that this was his right. Hux stepped forward slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the man.

“Lord Ren,” he said, voice even and slightly cold, “your shuttle arrived early.”

The black helmet turned to face the general as he walked toward the window. Even the dimmer lounge lighting highlighted the flush that was still in his cheeks and the fact that his hair was still slightly damp from the refresher. He took some small satisfaction in knowing that Hux couldn’t see his expression, couldn’t see the way he was chewing his bottom lip raw in the privacy his helmet provided.

“I had reason to believe I was expected.” His voice sounded strange even to him. Or maybe it was the words, strangely formal. He unfolded himself from the window seat and walked the few long paces that separated the two of them.

Hux watched Ben, sliding his own hands behind his back, taking in the appearance of the man before him. A sight, quite a manufacturing of strength and intimidation, a Knight of Ren if Hux had ever seen one.

“You were,” he said tightly, refusing to apologize. “Have you been to your quarters?”

“No. There was no one in the hangar with any information for me.” Standing in front of Hux like this, he felt like he was suffocating in the helmet and had to resist the urge to pull it off.

Hux nodded, reaching under his greatcoat to pull out a cylinder, passing it over to him. “You’re in the same rooms as last time. I’ve rearranged my schedule.” He took a step back, gesturing. “I’ll walk with you.”

It wasn’t unnoticed that neither of them mentioned that Kylo Ren had had full access to the ship even without the cylinder he accepted from the general. The Knight held it in his hand as he stepped up beside Hux without another word to follow him, though he obviously knew the way. He knew and remembered the ship better than he’d even thought he would.

They didn’t speak as they went to the lift to the officer’s personal level. Hux opened the door for him, and then gestured to the right-hand berth, as if the Knight hadn’t been here an hour before, hadn’t simply walked where he pleased.

“Only the Knight has visited since you were here last. Everything has been kept.” He opened the doors to the berth, gesturing Ben...Kylo in.

The Knight walked in ahead of Hux, glancing around and taking in the room to match it up with his last memories of it. Everything was neat and in its place, the replacement end table for the one he’d destroyed early in his visit, the compact sofa and the low table in front of it that he’d used as a chair, a bed, exercise equipment. The workbench was still installed in the corner; the general hadn’t had it replaced with the modular library that was the default for the guest room. Ben took a deep breath, then turned toward Hux and nodded.

“Have the droids bring my luggage up to the room.” He looked across the room quickly, remembering, but the shiny TIE pilot helmet was no longer sitting on the shelf on the opposite wall where he’d left it.

“Of course,” Hux muttered. He felt angry and deflated at the same time. His plans had been ruined, annoyingly so, and this was not the way that he wanted to interact with Ben. He could already feel the man slipping away, feel the distance rising between them. This couldn’t happen.

He stepped forward, going past the low table and picking up a case that rested against the side of the couch. It was made of some kind of metal, and had latches on all four sides. He placed it on the table, turning it so it was square, and then took a step back, gesturing.

“For you.”

Kylo Ren made a noise, frowning behind the faceplate of his helmet. He wasn’t expecting anything; in the lethargic aftermath of the sim room destruction, he’d tried to meditate and drain away all his expectations of Arrik Hux. He looked over at the man now.

“What is it?”

“A gift,” Hux said archly, though his face had turned into something that was not quite as unkind as it had been when they first entered the room. He shifted again and then sat down on the couch, crossing his legs.

The last time someone said that to Ben, he had received his new helmet. He watched Hux for another second, then crouched down in front of the box. He wouldn’t kneel. Glancing up at the general periodically, he undid each clasp on the box before setting his hands on it to pull the larger top portion off the base. The case was padded inside with formed foam, obviously protecting the contents. Ben set the top on the floor beside him, then unwrapped the final protective layer from around the oddly shaped object.

Darth Vader’s twisted helmet lay on a bed of thin foam, covered by a swatch of fabric. It seemed unnecessary considering how much the helmet had been through. Ben saw his hands shaking as he pulled coverings off the helmet. This was…

“Impossible,” he whispered aloud. He looked up to watch Hux’s face again. The general felt the tightness in his shoulders ease slightly. “This isn’t...is it?” The Knight pulled off the heavy cowl and cape wrapped around his shoulders and let them fall, movements jerky with the sudden rush of uncontrolled adrenaline that shot through his body. “Is it?” he repeated, voice betraying the emotion his own helmet hid.

Hux nodded once, suddenly annoyed that he couldn’t see Ben’s face during this. He had gone through considerable effort to make this moment a reality. He shifted, leaning forward, reaching over the table to tap the top of Ben’s helmet.

“Take this off.”

Ben swallowed, fingers of both hands running along the edges of the box his grandfather’s melted helmet rested in. He looked down at it, the way the front yawned apart like a silent scream, the top of what had been the smooth dome collapsed inwards in the extreme heat.

“Why?” He’d grown used to wearing it through everything. Training, meditation, fighting, facing down sentients on unruly planets. Even sitting with the other Knights. He hadn’t thought he’d ever get used to it, but taking it off now made him think he’d feel exposed. He shifted his right hand, gloved thumb just barely brushing the fire-blunted edge of the side of Darth Vader’s helmet. _Grandfather_.

“Because I know you,” Hux said quietly, still annoyed that he was being left out of the emotions he so desperately wanted to see. He could tell that this was a private, almost intimate moment, but he felt selfishly cheated. “I wish to know you still.”

Kylo Ren lifted his hands, the same thumb that had dared to touch Vader’s helmet now hitting the switch to release the mechanism on the mask. As the mouthpiece shifted forward, he ducked his head to pull the helmet off, setting it on the floor beside him before looking back to Hux. His hair had been plaited back from his face in several smaller braids and he looked paler under the _Finalizer’s_ unforgiving lights than he had the last time he’d been in this room. He shrugged as he met Hux’s eyes. He looked tired and overwhelmed, but the lines of his face were sharper and harder at the same time.

“It’s still me,” he said quietly. “Just with a goofy helmet.”

The phrasing left something aching in Hux’s chest. He couldn’t look away from Kylo’s face and he nodded, the set of his jaw tight. Shifting, uncrossing his legs, Hux leaned forward slightly and gestured.

“Will you come here?”

It was soft, but not wanting, not needy. Already the general could feel that this was a man different from the one who had left Arkanis, even if he said otherwise. There would have to be a new approach, there would have to be something to balance out the carved planes of the man’s cheek and jaw. Ben could refuse the question and not move, or simply ignore it. Hux was testing the boundaries, wondering where they stood now.

He remembered, for a second, on Arkanis when Ben had knelt down, expecting some kind of punishment for tossing a Captain on the wall and holding him there like a bug, but instead received praise, a soft touch. Hux remembered before that, when he watched Ben on board the _Finalizer_ , and the General agreed that he was strong. It had all been building up, every small bit of praise, not easily given, every touch or admission.

After six months, would this man want what Ben Solo had wanted?

“Why?” Kylo Ren asked, holding Hux’s eyes with his very steady, dark gaze. Before he received an answer, he put his hands flat on the table and pushed himself up to standing. He glanced down at the helmets, the dulled and deformed one on the table and the new one on the floor that was only marked with one or two scratches (one from an upgrade he’d made around the eyes), then stepped around the table to stand looking down at the general.

Hux frowned, slightly annoyed. He sighed through his nose and gestured again.

“Because I asked.” Kylo was a man of status in the order, his equal, or close to it. Hux looked up at him, gaze unwavering.

Kylo Ren spread his arms slightly, black gloved hands turned with his palms toward the general where he sat on the sofa. The table behind him shifted itself back, giving him room to step right in front of the seated man.

“And here I am.”

After nearly half a year of not being in such close proximity to a force-user, having one as strong as Kylo Ren was unsettling, a harsh reminder of the power he held. The general didn’t move, head still tilted upwards, taking in the knight who seemed very much the same and very much changed all at once.

“All and every bit of you,” Hux muttered, still looking up at the knight. He wanted the man on his knees again, he wanted to speak to him kindly. There was too much imbalance, too much ire, and Hux felt the gulf deepen, all due to some silly, unplanned interaction. He felt it, somehow, the hurt Kylo felt. For some reason, the knight cared about who Hux slept with.

“He means nothing,” the general offered, extending some kind of peace. It wasn’t an apology, it wasn’t even close, but it might be some kind of reassurance, it might help Kylo relax in his presence again, turn him into the man who wanted to be moulded.

“Who? TR-9477?” Kylo Ren blinked slowly and looked away, the corner of his mouth drawn inward slightly. “Your private time is your own, general.” When he looked back to Hux, his face was still again. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t his place. Though the ruins of the sim room whispered otherwise in its death throes, Kylo Ren knew he needed to be unaffected. What did it matter if the day he was set to return after not having seen the other man in six months, the general called in some stormtrooper with strong thighs and an easy, affirming mouth? He was the one who’d been an idiot, sentimental and weak to let his eyes close at night to the memory of the violently disturbed rocks in the graveyard of a garden on Arkanis.

“That never seemed to stop you before,” Hux said, and it came out a little snappish. He set his jaw and shook his head once, annoyed. He took a deep breath, controlling himself. This was so frustrating, when before it had seemed so easy, natural. He needed to give the other man more.

“What would you like me to call you?” He asked, not looking at Kylo now, examining the seam of his pants instead.

Kylo Ren tilted his head slightly, feeling his control of the situation like a tangible thing.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said quietly.

Hux set his jaw, glancing up at Kylo again.

“I wish to respect you by calling you by the name that you’re comfortable with,” he said, his voice a little harsher, “didn’t you once tell me I should correct people when they mispronounce my own name?” Hux was sharp, all edges and ice. “What would you like me to call you?”

He wouldn’t ask again, resolved to silently call the man Knight or Captain or even refuse to address him at all. it was a petulant thought and quickly dismissed, but this entire evening had been ruined by a scheduling error. It burned, thinking about how much easier this could have been, the fact that Ben had been so eager to come back, wanted so badly to see him that he had come directly to his quarters, that all of this had been missed opportunity after missed opportunity because he had allowed himself a release before he faced down the enigma in front of him.

“It’s like you forgot me just because I couldn’t talk to you for two months,” Kylo Ren said lightly, then he licked his bottom lip. “I told you it’s still me. But in front of your crew, you should probably use my new name. They shouldn’t recognize me. They shouldn’t know who I am. That man doesn’t exist anymore.”

Hux looked up at the knight and nodded. He was relieved and still resentful, but he shifted slightly, making a humming noise in the back of his throat.

“Take a seat, Ben.”

The Knight rolled his shoulders once, then turned to sit on the sofa beside Hux. He slid back, stretching his long legs out in front of him before pulling them in again to sit up, hands on his knees. Now that Hux had said it, it sounded strange. No one had called him Ben in months. He looked over the back of his grandfather’s helmet. It was dull, but bore less obvious damage.

“You took my TIE helmet,” he said after a moment, not looking at the man seated beside him.

“Is that what’s really been upsetting you?” Hux asked, smirking. “I’ll get you another.”

“I’m not upset,” Kylo said quickly, turning his head to look over at Hux. “And I don’t need one. I won’t be doing any piloting, I’m pretty sure. I’ll just need use of some of the other training facilities. I assume I still have access to the systems I did previously?” He assumed he had more; there weren’t really any secrets for the _Finalizer_ to keep from the leader of the Knights of Ren.

“I can’t exactly stop you,” Hux said, shrugging. He glanced over at Ben and nodded. “There’s a pad on your workbench. If you wanted to take out a TIE, you have access.”

That teased a slight smile out of Ben, but he looked down for a second and it was gone.

“What’s the story behind this?” he asked calmly, turning to stare at the helmet on the table..

Despite what Ben may have said, he was not the same man. It wasn’t still him, or if he was, there was a massive wall in between them. Hux took a deep breath, looking over at the ruined helmet and shaking his head.

“Nothing terribly exciting.” He frowned slightly, then gestured to the relic. “We found it on Endor’s moon. It’s his.”

Kylo Ren silently looked over the helmet carefully. He wanted to reach forward and turn it, to remind himself of the ruined face mask he’d looked at a few minutes before.

“How did you find it?” he asked, leaning forward slightly and spreading his legs to rest his elbows on his thighs. “Did you send a team?”

“A combination of careful planning and faultless execution,” Hux muttered, and it was a bit of a joke considering how surprisingly easy finding the helmet had been. “We knew where the Rebellion had infiltrated the base structure, found the nearest Imperial shuttle bay, identified a native structure nearby. I took some of the Elect down, and we searched the area. I figured that bringing every bit of warped armor would be overkill.”

Looking over the back of his head, the set of his shoulders, Hux wanted very badly to touch the other man, but refrained, keeping his hands laced in his lap. Ben looked over at him in surprise.

“You went down? Yourself?” It made the gift different; it made it personal on the general’s side, not just on Ben’s. That little smile tugged at Ben’s mouth again. “Did you wear your special ops planetside clothes?”

Hux made a noise, shrugging. “I have operations fatigues.” He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “I can’t believe that’s what you’re interested in,” he said, not surprised at all.

Ben turned his head away, but that didn’t do much to disguise his sudden laughter. He looked back to Hux with his dark eyes lively, still smiling.

“Well, I mean, if you’ve got clothes to help you blend in with the natives you should use them. Though in this case that means dressing up like a plush toy, so maybe that’s not your look so much. The white jacket on Tyrakos was definitely an improvement over this uniform.” He smirkd, running a hand through his hair.

“I still have that jacket,” Hux muttered, shifting slightly. He reached up then, drawing his hand along one of Ben's loose braids. “Is this the only way you’ve managed to tame your hair?”

“It’s gotten really long,” Ben answered, holding himself very still, like an animal that hasn’t decided whether or not it’s going to bolt. “Before I just tied it back, like when I was with you, but with intense training and the even more intense humidity...adding a helmet to that mix was a toxic combination.” He shrugged, still not moving his head. “Sa’marha Ren figured this out as an alternative. I’m not as good at braiding the top as she is though.”

“I don’t believe I’ve met her,” Hux said quietly, eyes flicking from Ben’s face to his shoulders. He slid his hand to the back of Ben’s neck, resting his fingers there for a few seconds before he pulled back. Ben didn’t trust him, or wasn’t used to him. Hux knew that if he continued to play this right he’d have Ben back where he wanted him. He was still the same lonely creature, still a man who wanted so much.

But he wanted Ben on his knees, Ben with his head against his leg, with his hand tangled in that dark hair.

“Really? She handles a lot of missions...maybe not in your quadrant though,” Ben said thoughtfully.

“I have limited contact with the Knights,” Hux explained, leaning forward to pick up the new helmet, holding it lightly with both hands, fingers curled under the faceplate.

Ben’s shoulders relaxed slightly; they were talking about things that were easy to discuss. “She made my helmet.” He wondered idly what she would think of this room, this ship, what she thought of this general.

“This is nicely made. Is she a knight, or a blacksmith?” Hux’s tone was teasing, but appreciative.

Ben’s smile in response was easy and unforced. He shrugged as he watched Hux’s long fingers against the black surface of his helmet.

“Definitely a Knight. Zabrak, under her own helmet.” It occurred to him that he might actually be the only Knight of Ren whose face Hux knew. “I guess eventually we’ll add one more Knight to replace Takhar.”

“They are yours, _Lord Ren_ ,” Hux smirked, sitting back, still holding the helmet. “You may do as you please.” He held the helmet out for the other man, done with his inspection.

Ben took the helmet back and nearly immediately put it back on; the gesture was second nature now. The heft of it in his hands, the way he shifted it to set it down over his head. Hiding his face was an instinct now. He stopped himself and set the helmet on his lap, looking down at it.

“The Supreme Leader has an idea for how the Knights should be. What our formation should be. Obviously, we operate as smaller teams or individuals, but it’s the cohesive unit he looks to.”

Hux almost chuckled, making a noise in the back of his throat instead, smirking. “Tell me more.”

“You think I’ll spill all our secrets?” Ben asked, running a finger along the incised lines around his helmet’s eyes. He wanted them deeper, wider, he thought. Maybe he’d work on that on the trip, since he had his workbench again. “As a military man, you know the basic idea. Like a legion of stormtroopers, not everybody’s a blaster guy. You enhance your team with specialists. We’re all specialists.”

“Ben,” Hux said mildly, shifting again to put his elbow on the back of the couch, his fingers finding the back of the man’s neck, sliding into his hair. “I know. I’m teasing.”

When Hux touched him, something ran down his spine and settled in his lower back. Ben took a deep breath, mouth pressing slightly when the other man’s fingers caught on a few hairs that were pulled the wrong way into the thicker braid that fell onto his back, loosely made as it was from the smaller braids that started at the top of his head.

“I didn’t think you were allowed to do that. Or since you’re off duty, teasing is allowed? Does it tie in with when loungewear is appropriate? How much personalization is permitted? I mean that for both loungewear and teasing, obviously.” He closed his eyes for a second. It felt so good to talk like that, to tease back. “This is the sort of stuff I need to know, sweet cheeks.”

Hux sighed, sliding his hand into Ben’s hair, holding his hand there. “And here I was worried they would beat all that out of you.”

“Oh, I was the one doing the beating. You should know that by now.” He pushed the thought of some of his training sessions with Snoke out of his mind, the searing pain that had made him stronger.

“I want to know what happened,” Hux said quietly. “Will you show me?”

It was impossible to hide his surprise when Ben looked over at Hux. The man couldn’t know what he was requesting. How could Ben share something like that, channels being blasted open and secret memories being raked through and exposed? The strength of the dark side sometimes forcing him down onto the floor like an insect, desperate for a lungful of clean air. The Supreme Leader had explained it to him; without even meaning to, Ben fought against it all, all that training in the ways of the light side of the Force made this more difficult. It would just take time, and Snoke’s careful guidance.

“I don’t...know if I can,” he said honestly, eyebrows drawn down slightly. “I don’t know if you could bear it.”

“What’s that mean?” Hux asked, frowning suddenly. He couldn’t help the sharpness.

“I could show you training. I could even show you Takhar Ren’s…” Ben paused and leaned forward to set his helmet on the table before standing up. He looked down at them both, the new and the old, the one ready for the battle and the other a martyr on the battlefield. He wanted to hear it again, him again, reassuring him that this was the correct path. He shook his head to clear it. “Takhar Ren’s final failure. But the training I did with the Supreme Leader. Your mind wouldn’t know what to do with the memories, with the sensations. I’m afraid I would hurt you.”

He walked to the small galley kitchen where he’d once made them noodles. And then dessert too sweet for Hux to finish. Carrying a glass of water and avoiding the other man’s eyes, Ben walked back to the main room.

Hux was still frowning, watching Ben carefully. He shifted forward, still confused.

“I can’t force you to show me,” he said, voice even again, “I won’t press further.”

Ben took a long sip of water as he walked back, then eschewed the sofa in favor of sitting on the table beside his helmet, facing Hux. He nodded to him when he met his eyes again, directly across from him.

“Good.” The temptation to share had been greater than he’d let on. The idea of showing Arrik everything, of giving back that trust that the general had had in him on Arkanis. But it seemed like a cruel thing to give back pain for pain. “Maybe we’ll talk about it. Later on. This trip isn’t short.”

The general pressed his mouth but didn’t say anything. He was trying to be kind, making an attempt at camaraderie. He wasn’t sure how to feel, slighted or respected, as if everything about this new Ben was an unpackaged enigma he was failing to understand. “Maybe.”

He was still leaning back against the couch, watching Ben as he sat on the table. It was strange, he seemed hulking, more mysterious, more delicate and more untouchable. Hux couldn’t be sure that he had ever seen anyone change in so short a time.

The Knight held his glass out, offering it to Hux. “Sorry, I should have grabbed you one. I don’t think I have anything stronger stocked in here.” He laughed a little. “I haven’t had anything stronger than muddy water in six months.” He could sense Arrik’s discomfort, his confusion, his fascination, and underneath it all, there was unmistakable desire. That was the most dangerous one. Kylo Ren couldn’t tell exactly what it was the other man desired right now.

“You have full access to the kitchen, same as last time,” Hux said as he leaned forward to take the glass from Ben. He took a sip before passing it back, not taking his eyes from Ben. “When you tried to reach me, what did you hear? It might be impossible to reach someone who isn’t sensitive.”

Ben wrinkled his nose as he accepted the glass, looking down at the water level in leftover annoyance.

“I didn’t hear anything. I thought I’d hear...well, anything. It was...no, that’s not true. I did hear you, that last time, right before I lost the connection entirely.” He snorted and raise his head to meet Hux’s eyes with a smile. “I actually heard you saying that you couldn’t hear anything. Did you feel something then? Or just...nothing?”

“I did as you said, I imagined you there.” Hux seemed almost annoyed by this, and he looked to the side. “I reached out to you, said I couldn’t hear you, and then...”

Kylo leaned forward insistently, holding the cup in both hands. “Then? Tell me? Even if it was something small, tell me. We can use it for next time.”

Hux rolled his eyes, shaking his head. This was ridiculous. “I felt it. Like the glass against my mouth.”

“The glass?” Kylo held up the one in his hand. “This?”

Hux glanced up at Ben, eyebrows up. “It was that real, when you...” Hux gestured, obviously unable to say it. “On Arkanis. I felt it again.”

Ben got it all at once, what Arrik was saying. He’d felt him kiss him. He couldn’t even give a word to it, but that’s what he’d felt. That kiss that he’d thought of every night had been what had gotten through.

“Maybe you were just remembering,” he said quietly.

“I felt it.”

“What was it like?” Ben asked, and he was just Ben when he spoke. His eyes were amused and he leaned in toward Arrik slightly as though it was dark and there was nothing at stake and no one to see them.

“What do you mean what was it like?” Hux asked, frowning. “It was just there, Ben, I simply felt it.”

Ben shook his head as he watched the other man.

“I have to do everything myself still, huh?” he commented, standing up in a smooth movement before leaning over Hux to kiss him just as he had in the garden. He raised one hand to Hux’s jaw, but didn’t hold him, just felt along the fine line.

Hux was surprised, again, but not shocked. He was still so unsure. It may have been one thing to bed Tracks and Ems, but they weren’t his equals, he didn’t need to treat them as if they were anything but subordinates. This was different. Ben was no longer beneath him.

He needed to take control.

Reaching up, he put a hand in Ben’s long hair, pulling him away, watching him with icy eyes. He was just barely flushed, his mouth slightly open.

“I don’t kiss.”

“You were doing a good job of it,” Ben said quietly, then he licked his lips. “And here I am, just trying to understand what happened that night. Was it like that?” He let Hux keep him at arm’s length, but he didn’t pull his hand away from the general’s jaw.

“Not unlike that,” Hux’s voice was just as soft as Ben’s, but halting. He swallowed and let go of Ben’s hair, still sitting back against the couch. Ben let his fingers trail against Hux’s skin as the man pulled away and wished, for a second, that he’d taken his gloves off.

“Well, I’d say we have a lot of work to do, but since you’re not Force sensitive, I think it’s a good start.” Ben sat back on the table, putting his hands on his knees again. A Knight’s posture. “It’s not like there’s a good book out there to help us out.”

Hux swallowed, watching Ben. He shook his head and pushed his hands through his hair, setting his jaw. Maybe there was some merit to taking Ben to bed. He was being pushed further and further away and Hux wanted to keep him near, bind him to his side.

“When we’re on the ship we can just message each other,” Hux pointed out pragmatically.

“It’s not the same.” Kylo Ren picked up his glass and took a sip. “I’d have thought you’d leap at a new way to maintain privacy.” His voice had slipped again to something cooler, more distant.

There it was again, the shift Hux couldn’t predict. It set his nerves on edge, made him angry and frustrated and wanting all at once. He leaned over quickly, putting his hand around Ben’s wrist, holding him to get his attention. Ben’s eyebrows shot up and he turned his head slightly to meet Hux’s eyes.

Hux swallowed, surprised that when he had wanted so badly his first instinct had been to reach out and hold onto Ben. He held Ben’s gaze for a few more seconds before he dropped his hold and stood up, his face hard. He was angry with himself, confused by the man in front of him, annoyed that they were nearly strangers again, that what Arrik had given him hadn’t been enough, hadn’t been close to enough. Was he so wanting that he couldn’t control himself?

“It seems privacy is a luxury these days,” Hux said, his voice clipped. Even though the barb was directed at Ben, it came from a place that wasn’t easily dismissed. Arrik had given Ben access to every part of his past, hadn’t faltered when Ben asked for more. It seemed unfair, and Hux hated feeling like such a child, as if someone had taken away a toy. It was unbefitting behaviour for anyone his age, and certainly an emotion unsuitable for a general of the First Order.

He walked to the door, picking up his greatcoat and pad. Ben stood up immediately after him, by instinct grabbing his helmet though he carried it under his arm as he followed the general, rather than putting it on. He didn’t understand what had just happened. He’d never found Hux so unpredictable before.

Ben extended his senses, just enough to get a feeling for the general, more than just the straight line of his back and the stiff way he gripped the datapad. That Hux was angry at himself was apparent; he didn’t need the Force to tell him that. But for what?

Hux turned slightly as the door opened, looking back to Ben. He wanted. It wasn’t ambition or power, it was desire, a pulsating want. But he didn’t know how to handle this new kind of man, the Knight in front of him, and it made him uneasy and resentful. He nodded, held it for a few seconds, almost like the bow he had given Takhar Ren on Arkanis.

“Enjoy your rest, Lord Ren,” Hux said sharply, stepping into the main foyer of the commander’s wing.

Ben looked down for a second, eyelashes shutters over his expression. He’d felt it, in a brief, burning second. That need, that want, that desire. It seemed like something too big for the general to contain, then he’d reigned it in again, and the Knight looked up to meet his eyes. He bowed slightly, a formality one performs before a sparring match.

“Thank you for the welcome, general. And...for the gift.” He pressed his mouth and half-smiled. He didn’t know what else to say about it. He hadn’t really processed it, much less the emotions the other man was trying to put to order inside his own head.

Hux didn’t trust himself to respond, knowing exactly how he’d like Ben to thank him. It involved Ben with his hair down, on his knees. Mouth open. Hux wanted to slide his fingers into Ben’s mouth and tell him to suck, he wanted to feel Ben’s cheek against his knee, he wanted to press him against the nearest wall and make him say it over and over, until he couldn’t, the breath choked out of him. He nodded instead, taking a step back and heading towards his own rooms.

“I’ll send you a message if I have need of you. Feel free to do the same.” He opened his door and bowed again. “Sleep well.” Without waiting for Ben to respond, Hux went into his own suite, shutting the door and immediately heading for his own bedroom, furious with himself.

Stepping back into his own berth, Ben stared at the closed door for a moment before walking over to kneel in front of the low table. He set his helmet down, staring into the twisted mask that had been the power behind the Empire, the symbol for everything his parents were afraid of. All of those things that he’d been born into, that they’d been afraid of in him. And Arrik had brought it back to him. He was too nervous to touch it. Tomorrow he’d know where to put it.

He closed his eyes, still on his knees, and recalled that flash of jumbled images from the general. Harsh, insistent fingers, the hard wall at his back, the name he never heard anymore. Opening his eyes, he exhaled slowly. Kylo Ren was not a man given to flights of fancy. He had responsibilities and tasks, training and so much disorder to put to rights. He couldn’t be a man who would let go of everything he had because of curiosity and the way the general turned his head to the side when he was vulnerable.

“Tomorrow, grandfather,” he said aloud as he pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll know what to do then.”

He glanced at the couch, then walked back to the bedroom he’d never used when he’d been a guest on the _Finalizer_. Now that it was something like home, he laid down on the bed with his boots still on and fell asleep before he let himself think something else stupid.

Hux didn’t spend long in his rooms, just long enough to get himself back under control. He went to the bridge, operated as normal for a few more hours and then went back for his rest rotation. Before falling asleep, he reserved space in the shooting range and, almost on impulse, he invited Ben to the range as well, sending him the time and details through Tower.

While he still wasn’t on time, when Kylo Ren arrived at the range ten minutes late, he wasn’t running and making apologies as soon as the door was in view. He walked in at the same pace he’d stalked the halls the night before. He had hoped he’d see Phasma on his trip down, but all he’d seen were groups of stormtroopers on their beats; they subtly adjusted their lines to leave his way unbarred at all times. His lightsaber was clipped to his belt; he was eager to see Hux’s reaction to it. At the same time, Kylo wondered if there would be lingering strangeness from the previous night, whatever that had been. In either event, he needed to start his daily training, and being shot at was a good way to get moving before eating.

He started unwrapping his cowled wrap as the door closed behind him, looking around to see which firing stall Hux had chosen.

The general had the common blaster in his hands, holding it easily as he fired shot after shot into the holos. He had set up the area so that the simulator was running for three of the five berths, and he was taking care of every target quickly, expertly, his stance set.

Kylo walked up after the general had lowered his blaster, looking over the scores displayed on the screen. As good as he’d been six months ago, he was even sharper now.

“You’ve been practicing,” he said as he laid his wrap over the bench. His modulated voice was loud in the stillness after all the blasts. “Does a single holo targets not provide enough of a challenge for you anymore?”

Hux’s breathing was slightly changed, a little out of breath, and he put his blaster down on the counter, pushing his hair back as he turned to observe the holos that had paused in their scenario, some still in the process of ‘falling’ to the ground. He shrugged before looking back to Kylo.

“At least I’m sure to hit them.” He stood up a little straighter, rubbing the back of his neck. He was dressed in the casual training wear, his sleeves pushed up to the elbow, the collar loose. He took Kylo Ren in, noting the helmet was back on, the lightsaber on his hip.

“Then where’s the challenge?” Kylo turned from the screen to look at Hux again. It was always strange to see him dressed down, though he wore it comfortably. Some officers looked more in uniform when they were dressed for lounging or training, like they didn’t know when their limbs weren’t encased in the stiff fabric they wore most of the time. Or maybe it was because they didn’t know what to do with their bodies when they weren’t taking orders. He himself was wearing exactly what he’d worn the night before, tighter-fitting black clothes without the bigger coat he’d brought with him but hadn’t needed yet. “What’s the game today?”

Hux was still staring at Kylo, still getting used to this presence that was stronger and bigger and more than Ben was. Ben and more than Ben. Stars, if he had thought about Ben before, it was a frustratingly simple desire compared to the conflicted string he ran along now. He shrugged, putting a hand on his hip, gesturing with the other at the expanse of the shooting range.

“I’m sure you have improved your movements,” he said, an underhanded compliment. “Let’s see it.”

“Reset your score then, general.” Kylo jumped over the barrier without bothering to brace his hand against it for lift, then walked to the center of the range. He unclipped his lightsaber, rolling his shoulders before bringing it to flickering life. He’d been up early this morning, and had already stretched and gone through his first routine of the day. It was a game in the way that it was all a game, just as it was training in the way that his whole life revolved around training now.

Hux set his jaw, watching as Kylo showed off the wicked looking weapon. Despite his casual dismissal of the lightsaber months ago, he had never seen one in person. The odds, again, seemed suddenly shifted in Kylo’s favor, a reapportionment that infuriated Hux.

“What’re you waiting for?” the Knight called down the lane, amusement apparent even in the slightly mechanical voice that came through the mask. He lazily turned the blade in a slow figure eight in front of himself, then a smooth turn at his side.

Hux set his jaw, picking the gun back up, unhurried. The holos faded out, leaving Kylo illuminated only by the lamps overhead and the eerie glow from the weapon he held. Hux took a deep breath, watching Kylo Ren carefully. He stood there for a minute or so, just staring down the barrel of the gun at the imposing figure.

The general pulled the trigger, just once, watching the set of Kylo’s shoulders. The Knight shifted slightly, easily deflecting the bolt with the plasma blade and sending it crashing into the far wall and knocking out one of the side lights.

Hux frowned, but didn’t flinch. He set his jaw, looking upwards for a few seconds.

“Careful,” Hux said, just barely raising his voice. He lifted his gun again and pulled the trigger twice.

The two bolts gave him no more trouble than the first; each one was deflected back, sent away with even more energy. He himself barely moved. He didn’t need to. Anticipating bolts was a daily practice in his training, with several of the Knights using blasters as part of their personal arsenals.

“Come on, general,” he called in the odd rumbling voice the helmet created. “At least pretend you want to hurt me.”

“Just your luck,” Hux replied, raising his voice slightly, “I don’t have to pretend.”

He fired off five shots, staring straight down the range at Kylo, icy eyes narrowed.

The clustering of the bolts made them a little more challenging. He swung the saber, then brushed another bolt away with a gesture from his other hand, before the return stroke took care of the final two. Behind the black helmet, Kylo smiled fiercely. The room had that faintly burned ozone smell tinging the air, and he hadn’t known until that moment that he’d missed it.

“Again!”

The officer nodded once, familiar with this routine. This he understood. He fired three shots, and then another three, barely pausing in between the two sets.

Kylo Ren met each of his volleys easily, though he started moving more as Hux changed up the patterns and frequencies. Having a single origin point did make it more challenging, as it didn’t give him as much recovery time using the lightsaber.

As their session moved on, more fixtures were destroyed by the strength of the bolts Kylo was deflecting. He began walking closer to the general, both hands on the long hilt of his weapon as he shifted it to meet each shot.

He lowered the saber slightly to block a bolt, then was taken by a touch of surprise when Hux fired again. He didn’t have time to bring his weapon up again, so he turned his body and raised his hand to deflect the shot. In the second it took to reverse it, he saw that he’d hit a perfect return trajectory. It was going straight for Hux’s unprotected chest.

Kylo swore and heard it inside his helmet, then sucked in a harsh breath through his teeth as he pulled with the hand he still had extended. The bolt hung in midair, bright blue and unreal where it reflected against the floor and against Hux's gun.

Hux’s breath had quite literally caught in his throat. To his credit he didn’t flinch as he saw Kylo’s hand come up, but the bolt held there, so close he could reach out and touch it, made every muscle in his shoulders and back tense up. He didn’t move, considered Kylo from across the breadth of the shooting range, and then fired another shot.

In one smooth movement, Kylo Ren ducked under the shot that Hux had just fired, turning himself and and bringing the bolt he’d caught with him. With a sharp exhalation, he pushed it toward the side wall as he spun, coming around to face Hux in a crouching position. He watched his face and forgot for a moment that the general couldn’t see his.

Hux’s face was stony as he watched Kylo. He tilted his head to the side, and it was unspoken, more like bow than anything he had expressed. There was a lot of trust built up, and Hux would indulge this as long as Kylo could control it. The general may be shooting, but like every other time, he was exposed to danger, much more so than Ben.

“Again?”

Kylo stood up, shifting his grip on the lightsaber’s hilt. He’d turned it off when he’d spun away from the final bolt and it was warm in his hand. Looking around the range, he laughed a little.

“I think this time we actually caused a little damage,” he said mildly as he turned his head back to Hux.

“It was a little haphazard,” the officer agreed, lowering his weapon. His eyes flicked from Kylo’s mask to his weapon, the hilt of it with exposed wires still showing, the vents making the lightsaber more dangerous and ancient looking than perhaps even Kylo knew.

“Good thing I can blame it on you if anyone asks,” Kylo said and there was a little bit of Ben’s teasing in his tone as he clipped the lightsaber to his belt again.

“You’re not even on the reservation,” Hux smirked slightly, putting the gun on the counter. “Though I hate to make a habit of destroying my ship.”

He gestured slightly, holding his hand out.

“May I see it?”

Kylo Ren hesitated, putting his hand on the hilt for a moment before unclipping it. He hadn’t let anyone else touch it; even Mar had never asked. He still wasn’t satisfied with it; the ancient pieces he’d used to construct it couldn’t hold up to his memory of the gleaming weapon he’d held when he trained with his uncle.

“The switch is here,” he said, pointing as he held it over to Hux. “Don’t impale yourself.” He paused. “Or me.” It was considered a Jedi weapon, but really, anyone could use a lightsaber. It was just that Force wielders were better able to balance the power that the weapon had on its own and to make the best use of it as a defensive as well as offensive tool.

Hux was surprised that Kylo had let him have the weapon. He held it carefully, taking a step away from the stall, examining it. The flimsy foils he had used for sporting on Arkanis were nothing compared to the hilt of this, and he knew, absently, that his techniques would never stand up to this kind of weapon, even if it wasn’t a plasma blade.

He frowned slightly, adjusting his grip, keeping away from the switch. With his other hand he brought his fingers carefully up to the vent system, the inlaid metal there easily recognizable even with the ends a charred black. The tubes were still hot to the touch, and he resisted the urge to run his fingers over the designs there. He didn’t know how to feel about such a strange, intimate momento being used like this. Perhaps it was a good thing, a physical tie.

Glancing up at Ben, eyebrows up, he raised the hilt slightly. “Should i turn it on?” He asked, demanding rather than hesitant.

“It has a kick to it. Keep your hand away from your body; the vent gates open after the main blade ignites.” Kylo wouldn’t tell him whether or not he should turn it on, but if the general decided to (with the implicit permission held with the information Ben had given him), he should know what to expect. Already he was surprised that the general hadn’t commented on the weight. His parents had both commented on it the first time they’d held one, and his uncle had told him that everyone expected it to be as light as it looked in the hands of a skilled user.

Hux nodded, frowning slightly. He put the end of the hilt in the palm of his left hand before he turned the saber on.

His eyes widened at the heavy blade that emerged, shaking and hissing from the hilt. Kylo hadn’t been exaggerating, the kick was evident, and already Hux could feel the blade jitter in his hands. He held it away from him with his hand, turned it over, and shook his head, frowning.

“I wouldn’t be able to use it.” His voice was soft, and he made a motion of turning the sword, sliding into a deeper stance, away from the stalls. Hux knew that the form would be so off that he didn’t even make an attempt at it, and after only a few minutes of examination, turned it off again, holding it out to Kylo.

The Knight took it back with a strange sense of relief, though he wasn’t sure if he had been nervous that the lightsaber being away from him was more dangerous to the weapon itself or to Hux. He hefted it in his hand, wondering how it had felt in Hux’s.

“You’re strong. You could probably learn.” He tilted his head, looking over the general’s face from the hidden privacy of his helmet. “In an emergency, if I’m down, I trust you could pick it up and defend yourself without doing yourself serious injury and saving your enemies the time.”

Hux’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he almost smirked. It was a pretty incredible compliment, all things considered.

“I don’t know if I have the time to spend mastering a weapon I’ll probably never use,” Hux said, shrugging. His tone wasn’t dismissive, but practical. “I’m not sure you have the time to teach me, either.”

“Well, as I said, emergency situations only.” Kylo wanted to know what had gone through Hux’s head when he saw that bolt coming at him, but there was no real way to ask. “You have some sword technique experience.”

“With a foil,” Hux pointed out, eyebrows up. “A significantly flimsier weapon.”

“But a weapon that influenced some of the lightsaber forms,” Kylo added with a smile that nearly made it through the vocoder. “When’s the last time you held a blade?”

Hux sighed, shaking his head. “A few years.” He shrugged, taking a step over to grab his blaster, turning the safety on. “But it hasn't been so long that I’ve forgotten how to handle it.”

“I’d pay good money to watch that.” Again, a compliment, disguised as...well, something. Kylo reached for his heavy wrap. “Are you all set? You don’t want to shoot me a few more times?” He glanced over at the clock on the wall, the seconds digitally counting their way to the next minute in sharp red numbers. “When are you expected on the bridge?”

“I gave myself another hour.” Hux made his way back to the armory room, depositing his blaster. “Why?”

“Just curious how much time I had with you. I was told you’d give me all the details on the new weapon, as well as several stops we’re to make on the way.” Kylo followed him as he wrapped the heavy fabric around his shoulders, arranging it into a cowl around his neck.

“Kylo, I feel so used,” Hux said lightly, walking out of the shooting range. “You’ll have to pick just one question to start with.”

“I imagine whichever has the most immediacy is where we should begin. Supreme Leader was very keen that I be given the lead on planetside missions.” Kylo walked beside Hux, making the other man adjust his gait to match his slower, longer strides. “Anyway,” he said, dropping his voice. “If you were used, you’d know it, sweet cheeks. You’d have to throw those sheets away.”

Hux rolled his eyes, but found these interjections of Ben’s personality oddly comforting. The Kylo Ren facade was frustratingly difficult to get past, and Hux didn’t want to fight with the mask and the Force and the power the knight held.

“I’ll be sure to warn whoever comes next,” he muttered, hiding his smirk well. “We can set up a time to meet regarding our stops. I imagine that Phasma would appreciate being included, since you are taking over some of her responsibilities.”

“The captain’s role will still be vital; I won’t be commanding stormtroopers directly. I’ll be overseeing and taking care of anything requiring a more...specific touch.” Kylo still wasn’t comfortable talking like that; while he believed in what he was doing, in the higher calling that he’d finally begun his journey toward, there was always that hesitation. He recalled all of the stories he knew about Jedi history, the warnings about how easy it was to fall to the dark side. What was wrong with him that he was weaker to the light?

“Regardless, I believe she’d like to hear that directly.” Hux adjusted his pace to Kylo’s, although he was pleased that the session had ended lightly. It was nowhere near where he wanted Kylo to end up, but it was certainly a step in the right direction. He had to slowly undo what Snoke had done, or operate on a slightly different wavelength. Parallel, but not intersecting. He selfishly wanted Kylo to himself and he was finally able to admit that maybe he was a little possessive.

“I’ll set up a meeting between the three of us tomorrow. We’ll discuss the _Finalizer’s_ course at length. Any emergency stops will be told to you immediately after I’ve made final decision regarding adjustments.”

“Don’t you think I should be involved in those decisions? I’m not the head of a legion at your command. I’m not looking to stomp on your boots here, but I operate outside of the Order’s regular military functions. I’m not just backup.” Kylo was completely confident of his position; he’d only been the leader of the Knights of Ren for a short time, but in that time, he had become an absolute power. His own personal doubts notwithstanding. He was learning to shove them down as he’d suppressed his darker thoughts before.

Hux’s brows snapped down. He resisted the urge to lash out and took a deep breath in through his nose before he answered. This was his ship. His. He would not be overrun by a man who had waltzed in less than a year ago.

“You will still be able to operate outside of military functions. I have a better knowledge of First Order directives, and a larger responsibility to my quadrants.” It was political, and he knew that Kylo would recognize that. He bit his tongue from snapping at Kylo, keeping his pride in check. “However, I can assure you that if you have concerns I will hear them, and will not take them lightly.”

“If I cook you dinner, will you take them even less lightly?” Kylo asked in the same teasing tone as before, though it was made slightly gruff by the helmet. He made sure he was quiet; it really wouldn’t help either of their reputations. He looked over some troopers that they passed; the troopers were careful to keep their helmets faced front though their curiosity filled the entire hallway.

Hux took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing. He hadn’t even realized that they were tense, but the possibility of fighting with Kylo Ren set his teeth on edge.

“Dinner will not affect my judgment.” His voice was just as quiet, and he wondered, idly, if maybe there was some benefit to communicating without speaking. “What will you be serving?”

“Whatever I think you can handle. Delicate stomach and all.” Kylo Ren smirked to himself as they walked. “When can I expect our meeting?” He didn’t know if Hux would put himself into a private situation with him as he had in the past. Things were definitely different now, and he admitted to himself that he was definitely the one who had changed.

“Tomorrow for the debrief, and...I’ll see about making time for when you’d like to eat together.”

Kylo was actually surprised; he’d meant the dinner as a sort of a joke, an invitation that would never actually be collected on. But it was a pleasant surprise, unexpected intimacy with a man he didn’t quite understand since arriving back on the _Finalizer_.

“Well, I’d have to interfere with all the important things you do for your ship.” He ran his thumb over the curved edge of his lightsaber hilt. “I’ll send you a time.”

Hux nodded once. “I’ll clear my schedule.”

“I like when you say that for me.” Kylo leaned in towards Hux. He wanted to whisper and knew he couldn’t with the kriffing mask on.

Hux smirked, tilting his head up a little. “Then you should keep giving me reasons to say it.” He looked over at Ben, eyebrows up. “Or do you just like it when I accommodate you?”

«That depends on what kind of accommodations you’re willing to make.» Kylo spoke directly into Hux’s head, past the foundations of walls the other man hadn’t thought to raise when he was just walking through the halls this way.

Hux stopped in the hallway, his eyes widening. Kylo Ren had just entered his mind, without asking, without even pushing, just spoke to him. He set his jaw and fought hard to control his anger.

“Don’t...” Hux swallowed, shaking his head, taking another deep breath before steadying his face, taking the step forward to walk with Kylo. He felt his anger in his face, reddening his cheeks. This was unbecoming, again.

He knew, honestly knew, that Kylo Ren hadn’t meant it to be an intrusion. He swallowed, frowning deeply, and fought to keep his face even.

Just like that, rebuffed again. Kylo grit his teeth, the muscles in his jaw standing out against his skin. If the general wanted all their communication out in public, fine.

Hux was walking with Kylo, a massive roil of emotions. He didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to so completely push Kylo Ren away. He swallowed, rubbing his hand over his mouth. They were almost at the lift to the officer’s level.

“I wasn’t expecting that.” He said quietly, still frowning.

“That’s what I was trying to do before,” Kylo said after a moment. “It’s no different. It’s easier. Closer.” He tightened his fists as they walked. “You’re not Force sensitive. It might just be a waste of time.”

Hux took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders as they got into the lift. “We’re going to my rooms,” he said sharply.

“Are we?” Kylo Ren asked mildly. He kept pace with Hux as they walked, always just a little bit slower to force the other man to hold back.

“We are,” Hux almost growled the order as he walked towards the commanders berth’s, fighting back his ire.

Kylo Ren didn’t say anything the rest of the walk back. He felt that there were things Hux wanted to say; he could almost hear him grinding his teeth to keep himself quiet. He walked with him into the commander’s berth, then looked over toward the general’s door.

Hux opened the door to his room, gesturing.

“Go.”

Nodding once, the Knight walked into Hux’s berth. He was almost painfully curious; how could he put up much of a fuss when he wanted to see inside of the general’s rooms so badly? When there wasn’t a stormtrooper ass up and ruining the view.

Hux closed the door behind him, walking past Kylo Ren. His rooms were slightly larger than Kylo’s, as he had the kitchen appliances taken out, established a desk and library in the living area that looked less homey and more like a large office. He went over to the couch, different, more worn, much more comfortable than the one in Ren’s rooms, and sat down, running his hands through his hair.

“Will you take that kriffing helmet off?”

Kylo stood in the middle of the room, looking around slowly to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. He had the leisure to look this time, and the invitation. He turned to look over at Hux, noting his posture. For the general, the way he was sitting was the equivalent of sprawling.

“Why? Do you miss my face?” he asked.

“I want to see you,” Hux said, and when he looked up at Ben he was glaring, demanding and insistent

“Fair enough.” Kylo reached up and unlatched his helmet, taking it off and tucking it under one arm while he ran his other hand over his hair. “Better?”

Looking up at him, Hux nodded once.

“I wasn’t prepared for that.”

“My face?” Kylo smiled a little and stepped closer to the couch. “That’s a rude thing to say. You’re the one who asked me to take the thing off.”

“You speaking to me. Like that.” he brushed his fingers over his temple. “It’s not as natural for me as it is for you.”

Kylo walked over to set his helmet in an open spot on one of the shelves before looking at Hux again. “Did I hurt you?” He didn’t ask it with as much concern as a question like that usually contained. There was more curiosity. He took one of the holocubes off the shelf and turned it in his hand but didn’t activate it.

“You surprised me.” Hux said, looking up at Kylo again. “I understand that it’s easy for you, but I’m not...” He frowned, running his hand through his hair again. Taking a deep breath, he sat up straighter, rolling his shoulders back.

“Come here.”

It was a simply request, one Hux had made of him several times in the past. Kylo Ren walked over to him slowly, stopping in front of the couch to look down at him as he had the night before.

“Yes?”

Hux shifted slightly, setting his stance as he looked up at Kylo again. He nodded once.

“Do it again.”

Kylo looked him over slowly, from his perfectly coiffed hair down the smooth uniform over his chest. He was silent as his gaze slid down over Hux’s thighs, remembering for a moment what his warm leg felt like beneath the grey trousers. He could recall the sensation against his palm and against his cheek.

«Try it quietly.» He whispered it, the words barely words as they floated to Hux’s mind.

Hux swallowed, frowning at the thought as it crossed his mind. He swallowed and tried to reply, but his thoughts weren’t...right? Weren’t working the way that Ben’s were working. He tried to focus on Ben and respond, and he thought very hard about telling Ben that he could hear him, that he heard him that time.

He shook his head, frowning deeply. He was trying, what was supposed to happen?

“What am I supposed to do?”

Kylo Ren tilted his head slightly, feeling the instant frustration in the other man. He knew what that was like. He also knew that in a perfectionist like Arrik Hux, even small failures were unacceptable, and while he exhibited patience in the face of long range plans, being put on the spot and then not immediately succeeded or at least having control of the situation was more than he could deal with.

“It’s very hard to explain,” he said. “The way I explained it to my Knights was speaking to the feeling of the person rather than to the person themself. You know me. You know what I feel like when I’m in a room with you, even a crowded one.”

“I know you’re here,” Hux muttered, “And whatever I’m doing I’m...thinking it to you. I’m saying it to you.”

“Just to me. Your whole focus needs to be on me.” Kylo Ren looked away briefly, then down at Hux again, at his blue fire eyes and the specific way he parted his hair. “Close your eyes.”

Hux looked up at Ben again before closing his eyes, rolling his shoulders forward. He took a deep breath in and then out slowly, focusing on the young man in front of him. He felt self conscious again, and he hated this, hated feeling inadequate and wrong, as if something wasn’t working right and it was his fault.

“I know you’re here,” he said it again, intently focused, trying to just think it at Ben. Maybe speaking would help him focus, or project, or something. “I know you.”

Ben didn’t step away, close enough to touch, though he maintained the distance between them.

“Do you?” he asked in an amused tone, then mastered his expression again. “So what do you want to tell me? Something you want to make sure no one else can hear.” He threw him a mental line to follow. «Something you don’t even trust the garden to keep secret.»

Hux frowned, hearing Ben clearly inside and out. When he spoke to him, and nobody else, spoke directly into his head, he knew not just the words Ben was saying, but what he was implying, what he wanted, the fact that he was serious and not teasing, that he was earnest and he wanted Hux to respond. Arrik knew all of this, just as he knew that Ben was standing in front of him, that they were in his rooms alone, that they were on the _Finalizer_ alone, that they were alone.

He took another deep breath, still frowning.

“You know me.” he said quietly before snapping his mouth shut. He tried it again, brows deeply furrowed.

«Me.»

Ben heard him, or maybe it was more correct to say he felt him, the sense of innate self that Arrik projected. There was a difference between just reading what was in someone’s head and hearing something that was given. Arrik’s inner voice was honed sharp by fierce determination, the desire to overcome something he didn’t even really understand. It was like some crystal, dry drink snuck from an expensive bar.

«I do know you,» he murmured into the other man’s head. He caressed his jaw without touching him, that phantom touch against the hard line of bone there.

Hux swallowed, sensing the contact, understanding it, trying not to jerk away from a hand that wasn’t there. He took another deep breath, nodding once. He knew he wouldn’t be able to touch Ben like that.

The Knight watched him, then dropped his eyes and pressed his mouth. «You hate that I have secrets from you now.» It was a statement; there was no reason to ask a question he knew the answer to. They both knew that Ben wasn’t quite Ben anymore; it wasn’t Ben hiding behind Kylo Ren’s mask, though he’d felt that way at first. There were things he could do, things he had done. He couldn’t smile like Ben Solo anymore, not with the full open expectation of a galaxy he’d never really wronged spreading out before him. Maybe Arrik already knew what that felt like. But even Arrik couldn’t know how the dark still ebbed and flowed, how he felt his hands shake after a fight when he looked out over what he had done. Arrik had been laid open by the Supreme Leader, but how often did he feel those spidery fingers trying to mold his soul into what he was supposed to be? «I hate it too.»

Hux shifted slightly, and he wanted to touch Ben, wanted to have his hands on him. He swallowed that down, pressed the want into a deeper part of himself and shook his head.

“You can keep them.” Hux pressed his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut. He took another deep breath and tried again, saying the same thing in his mind over and over, trying to reassure Ben, trying to tell him that he understood secrets, that he knew what weight they held, that sometimes secrets were important. He swallowed, turning his head to the side slightly, still trying to focus completely on Ben, on who he was, what he held in him, the power and strength and concentrated will the man held.

«Keep them.» He made it through, he could feel it, he understood that somehow the conversation had shifted slightly, that he had responded.

Ben heard himself exhale slowly, heard his breath shake a little and was relieved it wasn’t echoed back to him through the helmet. There it was, the way Arrik turned his face away, and underneath it all, that vital desire again. He swallowed down more than just words.

“We should stop,” he said aloud, his voice a little cracked. “You’ll get a headache if you work at it too hard. Even Force users do, when it’s new, after too much practice.”

“We’ve barely started,” Hux said quietly, eyes closed a little less tightly.

He was difficult to look away from when he sat like that, Ben realized, when he was less sharp but working no less hard. His eyelashes seemed darker when they lay on his cheeks like that. Ben was taken by a strange and strong impulse to brush them with his finger, and had half taken one of his gloves off before he stopped himself.

«Then talk to me.» It was easy for him; the Knights were silent with one another most of the time now, choosing to have all of their communication this way, where no one else could hear them.

Hux shifted again, and he was getting annoyed, feeling how intimate and intense this was and feeling left out. He knew that Ben was talking just to him, that there was nobody else around, but he felt surpassed. He fought down his pride, shook his head, and continued to focus on Ben. His pride would mend.

What did Ben want to hear? He had wanted secrets, but Hux didn’t have many left, a few surprises maybe, but he didn’t feel as if he were a man crowded by lies. His thoughts flicked over his ship for a second, and then he remembered.

“I want...” He blinked and startled himself, losing focus on Ben. He looked up at him, eyebrows up. He raised his hand slightly, holding it out for Ben. The Knight looked at his hand and then to Hux’s eyes. This time, he’d have to ask for it.

«Tell me what you want,» he murmured without sound. «Show me.»

Hux closed his eyes again, imagining Ben on his knees, his torso even with the general’s thighs. He took a deep breath, trying to just show Ben what he wanted, that he wanted to have his hands in Ben’s hair, that he wanted to lean over him, as he had done after Snoke had broken him apart, as he had done when he praised Ben for being strong. He wanted to put his forehead on Ben’s, wanted to touch him with intent, wanted to be alone with him on a ship full of people who were underneath him. Ben had been right; Kylo was above all of it and outside of it, and Hux knew how that loneliness felt.

The images were clear and poured out of Hux easier than the words had, focused by his intense want and their proximity. Ben felt it all, knew it without needing to know the letters and times that went into all of it, the memory that informed the possibilities of the future. It was a hierarchy that was constantly disintegrating and reforming. Who knew him as Arrik knew him? Who knew the general like the man he’d made a knight?

Who else did they really trust? Trust was not obedience; trust was the moment Ben slowly sank to his knees in front of Hux as though it was a gesture as familiar to him as breathing. He made a wondering noise and wasn’t sure if he’d given it voice. Both of them would hear it regardless.

Hux shifted forwards, raising his other hand, sliding his fingers gently into Ben’s hair. He swallowed, and even though he had asked for this, had wanted it, it felt so piercingly intimate that he held his breath for a few seconds, pulling at the ties that kept Ben’s hair in place.

His shoulders relaxed slightly as he leaned down, over Ben, even though he wasn’t as broad, not quite as tall. He was a presence over the other man. He swallowed and thought about Ben, what Ben would want, and smiled slightly.

There were new TIEs in production. Beautiful ships. Hux had gone over the designs himself, and he tried now to show Ben the sleek lines, the triangular wings, the shapes and sharp angles of the new Impulse that would soon be on the _Finalizer_. He concentrated on Ben in front of him, underneath him, and held him still and held him not at all.

Ben closed his eyes, mind open and unguarded for Hux to show him ships, those fierce starfighters that screamed in space, too fast, too unprotected, too deadly. He wanted to fly, to feel the controls give under his hands. He kept his head down and could feel Arrik breathing above him, slightly fast as his fingers moved in his hair.

«It’s too long. I need to cut it soon.»

«Not too short.»

It came across clearly, unexpectedly, and it surprised Arrik, but it was accompanied by a sharp spike of pain in the back of his head. He set his jaw, turning his head to the side, tightening his grip in Ben’s hair and then releasing it, cradling the man’s head, the back of his neck, almost an apology.

Ben glanced up at him curiously, trying to read his expression. He sent a sort of querying sensation to the other man, like being touched with a question mark. While he was in no way opposed to hair pulling, it hadn’t seemed voluntary on Arrik’s part.

Arrik shifted, leaning down a little more.

“It hurt,” he said quietly. He knew the question hung in the air. He took another deep breath, and the pain was no longer there, not even an ache. He pushed Ben’s hair back, and then tightened his hand again, this time on purpose. He continued to imagine the ship, the hyperdrive rings they had developed, the twin cannons, the space for a gunner.

He took a deep breath, finding images easier, and smirked slightly. He sent Ben an image of the two of them in the TIE, pilot and gunner, full gear. It was a joke, but one he thought Ben would enjoy.

Ben laughed easily, catching the stream of pictures and feeling the increasing confidence behind them. For whatever reason, this was better for the other man, which was fine. They both knew that a great deal of this was Ben creating a channel between them; they weren’t meeting halfway. The Knight would never have let it happen that way with another Force user; his own walls were down to make it all easier for Hux; another Force user would be too tempted to see what else they could find.

At least the Force users he knew.

To see how the other man could adapt to changes, Ben manipulated the image that was shared between them, slowly adding hash marks to the side of the gunner’s helmet to indicate kills.

Arrik took a deep breath, turning his head slightly, but finding the image easier to grasp. He nodded, added in dark burns along the thrusters, the heat of the inside of the TIEs. He swallowed and pushed Ben’s hair back again.

«A week.» He had meant to say that the TIEs would be on board in a week, but somehow parts of his message got lost. He winced suddenly and the pain came back, throbbing now in the back of his head, pushing at his temples. He turned his head to the side, leaning over, his grip in Ben’s hair tight, forcing his head back.

Ben opened his eyes as his chin was forced up, frowning as he put one hand on Arrik’s thigh. The pain in the other man’s head pinged in his mind, more like knowing there was pain than being in pain himself.

«Arrik.» He changed tack immediately. “Arrik. Come out here.”

Swallowing, Arrik pulled himself back from Ben, feeling the connection fall like a heavy boulder in a shallow stream. He was breathing hard, and he blinked, opening his eyes as he sat up a little straighter, feeling Ben’s hand on him. He saw he was pulling on Ben’s hair hard and he released him, holding his hands away from Ben’s head. This was not a time for pain, he didn’t have that trust yet, didn’t have the right. He wanted to earn it, this was not the time.

He took another deep breath, blinking, watching Ben. He wouldn’t apologize, but he wasn’t touching Ben now, his hands hovering near his neck.

“Have you done this before?” he asked, frowning, “with someone like me?”

Ben shook his head slowly, keeping his eyes on Arrik’s face. It was like watching someone wake up, unsure if they were waking up some a good dream or a nightmare.

“No, only with other Force users. It makes it so I don’t really know what to to tell you to expect.” He kept his hand on the general’s leg, applying some grounding pressure.

Arrik took a deep breath and nodded, pulling back slightly. He brushed his fingers through Ben’s hair gently, pulling out the braid even more. “No one to compare to.” It was bitter, self deprecating.

“No one to compare to,” Ben agreed with a slightly smirky smile. “It’s hurting you now, isn’t it?” There was no patronizing tone to the question; he’d expected the headache, though he’d tried to give Arrik the warning ahead of time to avoid getting to this point. Honestly, he should have known the man better than that. He knew himself better, even. If there was ever a challenge thrown out like that, with someone telling him it couldn’t be done or only at pain to himself if he tried too hard, that was the exact path he chose. And yes, it often hurt. But more often than not, he got his hard-earned result.

The couch gave slightly as Arrik moved forward again, putting a hand on the side of Ben’s face, thumb under his cheekbone. He frowned, leaning in slightly.

He tried to tell him, it only hurt a little, it was just a headache, it was nothing, it’ wasn’t so bad, he’d been through worse. Arrik frowned and swallowed, trying to get through to Ben.

«Not so.»

This time the pain made him grit his teeth hard, turning his head to the side as the headache slammed into his temples. It was a pain that was sharp and throbbing at the same time, unrelenting even as he tried to focus on Ben and throw up walls. The hand on Ben’s face fisted against his jaw before Arrik dropped it to the man’s shoulder.

He swallowed, breathing hard.

“I’m done, we’re done.” He shook his head, but this time the throbbing didn’t fade as he pulled his mind away from Ben’s. The pain was still there, and Arrik felt a little sick to his stomach as well, the throbbing hitting him just behind his eyes as he pulled back, leaning against the couch.

Ben took a deep breath and sighed slowly, noting the sickly pallor of Arrik’s face and the tightly around his eyes and mouth, as though the muscles at the edges were pinching inward. Sometimes, it wasn’t even worth warning someone. Patting the general’s knee, he stood up and walked toward where he assumed the kitchen was.

“Stay there, close your eyes. I’ll get you some water,” he called back to him. He couldn’t keep himself from adding, “I told you it was going to hurt if you kept going.”

Arrik made a noise, eyes closed. He made a rude gesture towards Ben and leaned back, closing his eyes. He didn’t feel quite up to speaking, the room pitching forwards in a disgusting manner. All this over a few words.

“If you throw up,” Ben continued as he walked back with the glass, “You might actually feel better.” He sat down beside him on the sofa and pressed the water into his hand. “Here. Trust me; hydration helps.”

“No.”

Arrik shifted, putting the glass against his temple. He was taking long deep breaths, thinking slowly about basic functions. Ben shifted to put his arm along the back of the couch, turning to watch the other man. He couldn’t keep the slight smile off his face.

“You’re going to have to sleep that off, general. Sorry about that.” He tapped his foot, then made himself be still. He’d learned stillness.

“Fuck,” Hux growled, taking another deep breath before taking another sip of water.

“Yeah, Betuo got knocked on his ass his...second session? Laid him out flat, throwing up for two hours.” Ben didn’t include the fact that the Knight had been training for six hours that day, with an intensive mental session for the last two.

Arrik didn’t respond, shifting down slightly, the pounding a dull throb behind his eyes. His head rested against the back of Ben’s wrist.

“How much practice until I don’t need to schedule recovery time?”

“That’s going to depend on you, sweet cheeks. Like I said, this is sort of uncharted territory for me. I haven’t even really found much about it in my research.” Ben turned his arm so his hand cradled the back of Arrik’s head gently.

“Depend on me doing what?” Arrik asked softly, eyes closed. He put his hand over his eyes, frowning.

“Just how well you adapt. Which probably means taking it easy and not taking yourself to this point every time. Built up your endurance. You’re basically using muscles you don’t have. Or you have, but you’ve literally never used.” Ben kept watching him, seeing the pain written all over the general’s face.

Arrik pressed his mouth and took a deep breath.

“Could you tell? You just said to stop...not...” he paused, fighting back the vertigo. “Did you know when it was too much?”

“Not exactly. You’ll learn. I felt the strain in your communication, and you get a sort of...tight look. Right here.” He shifted and leaned over, touching his left index finger to the delicate skin under Arrik’s eye.

The general made a pained noise, turning his face away from Ben’s hand.

“Just be nice when you tell me I’m being an idiot,” he muttered, still not pulling his head away from Ben’s hold. Without being asked (he knew Arrik wanted it), Ben started slowly rubbing the back of the other man’s neck, taking care not to rub too hard.

“What words are off limits when I tell you?” he asked quietly, smiling.

Arrik sighed, taking a sip of water before leaning forward, letting Ben’s hand go over his neck. “Use your judgement,” he murmured, already feeling less nauseous.

“You should really know by now that that is one of the worst things you could say to me.” He kept rubbing Arrik’s neck, feeling the tensed muscles beneath his fingers and the way his neatly trimmed hair brushed against his hand.

The room was still, and it seemed isolated, separated from the rest of the ship by more than walls. Arrik took a deep breath, not moving away from Ben, letting himself have this small indulgence. He swallowed, taking slow, deep breaths.

“Maybe that’s why I said it.”

“I know, you like to dance on the knife’s edge, Arrik.” It was so good to say it aloud to him, to know he was hearing it. Ben didn’t know why anyone else would want to pronounce it the other way. He ran his fingers through Arrik’s hair, then resumed massaging his neck.

Arrik’s eyes were closed, his head resting in Ben’s hand. He knew that this was too much, it was too easy, and this was going too far. He didn’t pull away, the ache in his head rendering him weak. His shoulders sagged and he took another deep breath.

“How long do I need to rest?”

“Until you don’t feel like you’re going to hurl when you stand up,” Ben replied easily. “You don’t need me to tell you that.”

“I had hoped you had...” Hux took a deep breath in, swallowing. “A time. So I could tell my Lieutenant when to expect me on the bridge.”

“Where’s your datapad?” Ben asked, laughing to himself. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Stars, don’t embarrass me further. You’ve laid me low with just a few words, at least allow me the dignity of commanding my officers.” Arrik groaned, gesturing towards his large desk. “Over there.”

“You’re going to be asleep in twenty minutes.” Ben rubbed his thumb just behind Arrik’s ear before pulling his hand away to stand up. “Let me grab it for you.”

The general turned his head, too nauseous to argue or push Ben away. Tomorrow would be different. He watched Ben go, no longer annoyed by his own failings, and then closed his eyes. Just for a second.

Ben brought the datapad back, but it was obvious the general wouldn’t be using it. Smirking, the Knight pulled up Hux’s comm channel, alerting Mitaka. _‘Catching a nap, back for my next scheduled shift. Enjoy the bridge.’_

He left the pad next to Arrik on the couch, looking at him for a moment before shaking his head.

“Sweet dreams, sweet cheeks.” The Knight walked over to pick his helmet up from the shelf, hesitating a second before putting it on. Then he walked out of the general’s berth and back into the ship that was his home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soon, my friends. soon. [come say hi!](http://tigernoir.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the love is so appreciated! remember to [come chat with us!](http://tigernoir.tumblr.com/)
> 
> T/W: sex stuff

The meeting in between General Hux, Captain Phasma and the Lord Ren went about as well as anyone suspected and much better than Hux had anticipated. The route the _Finalizer_ had set was through standard hyperlanes, and there were a few cursory stops at major ports where the First Order had established itself as the authority.

In all honesty, most of the Outer Rim was under the control of the First Order, but it still didn’t hurt to check in with the major systems. Phasma, as usual didn’t quite care where they went, as long as she had time with her troopers. Surprisingly, Kylo Ren (no longer Ben Solo, his mask on, heavy cowl arranged on his shoulders, making him seem even more broad shouldered and monstrous) hadn’t even put up too much of a fight, or really any at all.

Hux supposed this was mostly due to the fact that Snoke hadn’t yet provided any real missions for the Knight, merely presented him with the directive that he remain on board the _Finalizer_ until action was deemed necessary. Nevertheless, the meeting went faultlessly, and Hux was almost pleased as he left the room with Ren and Phasma.

He nodded to them both, smirking.

“I’m expected on the bridge. I believe you two have should have some time to catch up.”

Kylo Ren nodded to Hux as they got out into the hall. He wore a long black coat, belted with a wide black wrapped sash and even next to Phasma’s impressive chrome armor and Hux’s sharp uniform, he presented a striking figure. The Knights of Ren had a distinctive look, and had before he’d even joined them. That wasn’t to say it didn’t suit him well, or that he didn’t add to the reputation they’d created.

“Later, if you have time, general, I would appreciate another meeting to go over several items. Tomorrow would be acceptable as well.” He’d been silent through Hux’s meeting, and his voice rumbled through the hallway. While his words had been phrased as a request at Hux’s convenience, his voice wasn’t asking, but telling.

Hux nodded, and it was something like a bow. “Of course Lord Ren. Tomorrow.” He understood that they were not quite equals, but he appreciated that there was still something like deference in Kylo’s tone. He knew that if there weren’t, the two of them would be much more at odds with each other.

The respectful nod was something Kylo Ren had come to expect, though he wasn’t sure he was used to it from Hux. He had a meeting with the Supreme Leader later this rotation, and he assumed that he would get orders then. After that, it would be time to tell the general what interruptions there would be to his own schedule. From his other side, he tried to feel something from the Captain, but she held her thought to herself as always.

“Yes. Make sure you allot enough time.” «I would like to take my time with you.»

Hux’s eyebrows went up a few notches but he didn’t say anything. He nodded to Phasma then turned around, headed for the lift that would take him to the bridge. «Too impatient-»

It came through, but it was obvious that there was more to the sentiment that fell down in between the thought and the delivery. It was an improvement, something along the lines of a step in the right direction, and Hux allowed himself a fleeting second of satisfaction before disappearing around a corner.

Behind his face mask, Kylo Ren smiled and sent back a feeling of argument. The words weren’t important, to be honest. There were a hundred variations of what he could say, and Hux could likely guess at a few. All he actually needed to know was that Kylo Ren, even after Hux was in the lift, heartily disagreed.

As they continued down the hallway, he turned to glance at Phasma. She hadn’t had time to more than greet him before the meeting had begun. As usual, he had been late.

Phasma, for all her training, still had very little idea how to act around Knight of Ren. She had even less of a grasp on how to handle this situation when her...she would call him a friend, suddenly turned into this strange, dark columnar figure overnight.

She glanced over at him before looking forwards again.

“What’s your schedule like these days?”

“My own,” he answered, again knowing his smile was secret. “I make it as it pleases me. Do you still set aside your early sparring hour?”

The captain nodded, “I do.” Between the two of them, they posed a significant threat to the space of the halls, forcing troopers and officers to file in a single line on either side of them.

“You are welcome to join me, Lord Ren.” Her voice, even through the vocoder in her helmet, was slightly lenient, not nearly a command.

He was relieved when she asked, and hoped it wasn’t some strange sense of politeness that had urged her to invite him. She could be extremely formal in certain situations. They’d rarely applied to him, but he’d seen it with others.

“I’d be happy to see if you’ve gone soft in my absence,” he replied, not sure if the slightly crackling rumble of his changed voice would make him sound teasing or just plain rude.

“I can assure you that is not the case,” she said, recognizing that he was still unsure of his place on board the _Finalizer_ , that he was searching for his own way of moving in between the halls, creating his own authority.

“Well, it’s not like the general’s putting you through your paces.” Kylo Ren turned his head to look over at her, remembering her with the young troopers at Hux’s party, taller and stronger than most of the men in attendance. He also remembered, and it still brought a little flush to his cheeks, that he’d thought “Captain Phasma” was a man, and had used male pronouns, and Hux had never corrected him and had just let him feel like a total idiot when he met her.

“I manage to do that all on my own,” Phasma said, smiling a little. “We took all the troopers planetside for a full technical on Endor’s moon. Very exciting.”

Kylo looked forward again as they walked. Endor’s moon. The thought of the melted helmet in his rooms gave him a shot of awed pleasure.

“Did you aid the general in his mission?” he asked curiously. Hux had said he took a small team, though he hadn’t mentioned Phasma with her Elect.

“I had a pretty large scope to monitor myself,” she pointed out. “He managed well enough.”

From her answer, he wasn’t sure if she knew what the general’s mission even had been. He nodded, watching another group of four officers giving them plenty of space.

“He usually does,” he replied, then stopped. “I’m heading to one of the training rooms, but I’m sure I’ll see you later. I...can no longer dine in the officers’ mess however.”

“No?” Phasma did her best not to sound surprised.

No, never, he couldn’t ever take the mask off in front of anyone again. It sounded ridiculous in his head, and he couldn’t imagine what it would sound like out loud. But she knew who he was, as Arrik did. Obviously, he’d take his helmet off when they sparred. Wouldn’t he?

“It’s better that way. I’m sure you already have orders concerning my...identity.”

“If that’s what it takes,” Phasma said, and it was not unkind. “The Supreme Leader has decreed your former name Unpronounceable.”

Kylo wished he could just talk into Phasma’s mind, but he knew that was something that should probably be used sparingly. Instead, he nodded to her.

“No one on this ship but you and the general knows who I am. Who I was.”

“We would have been terribly bored if you had left entirely.”

When he smiled, it felt like the realest thing in his day thus far.

“I’m sure the bidding war was crazy between all the different Star Destroyers. How did you guys manage to sweeten the deal enough to get your own Knight?” He heard the change in his voice, where Kylo Ren wavered and Ben Solo still lingered.

Phasma walked with him to the lift, comfortable with the company. “The General had an advantage. Snoke trusts him more than most.”

That was undeniably true, as was the fact that straight-forward Phasma often missed the joke. Or, as he thought was more likely, she got the joke and actively chose not to engage.

“The general’s going places, no question.” He knew that Snoke had plans for Hux, though he wasn’t privy to them, just as Hux wasn’t told much of what the Knights of Ren were doing. Two separate branches of the Supreme Leader’s plan. “Have you seen this new weapon? I still haven’t been briefed on it.”

“I have,” Phasma said, glancing over at him, “you should save your questions for the general. He’s very proud.”

Was that fondness? Teasing? That little bit of friendly mocking you were definitely not supposed to show when you spoke about a superior officer?

“You’re making it very exciting and mysterious,” he said. “Even if you told me now, I promise I’d act surprised when he told me.”

“Sorry, sir,” Phasma’s voice was nearly impossible to read through her own breathing system. “I wouldn’t do that to the general.”

Kylo Ren let himself smile hugely, keeping his amusement silent when they reached the lift.

“I’m sure your dedication never goes unnoticed.” He turned to face her, wanting to pull the helmet off and take a deep breath and ask what he’d really missed while he was gone. Instead, Kylo Ren nodded to her. “Let me know when you want me to remind you what real sparring is like. Make sure we have the room to ourselves.”

Phasma nodded once. “Of course. I’ll send you a notification.”

Kylo heard the mechanical zipping noise that meant the lift was approaching. After a second, he held out his hand, covered in a black leather glove. Every inch of him was covered now.

“It’s good to see you again, Captain.”

Phasma reached to grab his hand, shaking it firmly. “Lord Ren.”

He held it a moment longer, even after the lift had come and the door had slid open behind him. He felt like there was something else to say, and it tasted like an apology in the back of his mouth. But he released her strong grip, then turned and walked into the empty lift alone.

Phasma didn’t move, watched him go for a few seconds before turning away.

It turned out that most of what he did was train. With no missions yet, no real involvement with the ship, he was, again, waiting. He complained of the drawn out time to the Supreme Leader when he received a call from Snoke, but rather than being annoyed by the demands, his teacher calmly urged patience. He would be called upon soon.

Two hours later he walked out, heading immediately to the commanders’ wing. He needed to sit, feeling raw inside as he usually did after a training session. The anger that had been stirred up wouldn’t really wake until later. For now he was exhausted, but felt the need to talk to Hux. The one man who he’d told anything about his training, even if he hadn’t said more than it was impossible to explain and dangerous to show.

It occurred to him belatedly that he had no idea if the general was even free.

«Arrik. Where are you?»

Hux still wasn’t used to the slight intrusions on his mind. He knew that it had only been a few weeks, that he and Ben had been speaking like this for only a while, but it was slow going. He couldn’t sustain a long conversation, and his head pounded if he pushed himself too far.

He took a deep breath, observing the bridge, sending the image back to Ben, finding it easier to communicate without directly focusing on abstract concepts.

It was enough; Kylo Ren could see the viewscreens and stations settled around the bridge. More than the image, he got the sensation - _busy, working._

«I’m more exciting than the bridge. I’m in my room.»

Hux sighed through his nose.

«Doubtless,» he sent, going over to another radar system, watching the microadjustments to the hyperlane course. «Is there a reason I’m being summoned like a dog?»

«Like a dog?» He projected a whistling sound into the general’s head. «You’re more like a loth cat anyway.»

Hux tried his hardest to convey the idea that he was rolling his eyes, but he wasn’t sure quite how to do it. He sighed instead, smirking slightly, turning away from the large bay windows.

«Be nice,» Hux sent back, walking out of the bridge, hands behind his back. «I’m headed to you.»

«I’m always nice to you. You should let me show you how nice I am. I have, as I’ve been told, very very nice hands.» He laughed, sitting on his couch and into Hux’s mind.

«Stop.» Hux replied, taking a deep breath as he got into the lift. «Two minutes, you’re giving me a headache.»

Instead of an answer, Kylo just murmured a silent feeling of apology, then leaned back to wait for him. He made a bet with himself; would Hux knock or just waltz in? He thought sometimes that Hux wanted to catch him in the middle of something. Maybe undressing or something.

It didn’t take long for Hux to make it to Kylo’s rooms, and he opened the door without announcing himself. He assumed that since the man had asked for him to visit he was expected.

“You didn’t answer my question, Ren,” Hux said, shutting the door behind himself. “What is it you need?”

The Knight grinned behind his helmet. No announcement. He owed himself a drink. He looked over to watch the general walk in, not getting up from his place on the hard sofa.

“To talk to you. I’m sure this ship can hold its course even if you’re not watching out the window.”

“I enjoy adjusting courses. It’s simple, requires minimal attention, and allows me to feel like sometimes my orders are carried out perfectly.”

“If you’re looking for busywork, I’m sure I can find something for you. Like polishing my helmet.” Kylo’s voice through the vocoder lost the teasing tone and he wasn’t sure how to put it back. He heard it inside, but that wasn’t what Hux was hearing. “Or something else you can polish, if you take my meaning.”

Hux rolled his eyes, pleased that Kylo could finally see his expression.

“The point, Ren.”

“What is your course for the next few rotations?” Kylo gestured for Hux to sit down. He had no idea if the man would.

“We’re making a stop in the Touvurro system, but not staying long.” Hux delivered it like a report, not moving to sit down. He sent an image to Kylo of Ben’s face, his hands around the helmet, pulling it off. He took a deep breath, frowning slightly. «I prefer talking to you.»

Almost without thinking, Kylo reached up to unlatch his helmet. He paused. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, that he was so eager to take it off. The helmet was supposed to be more than instinct by now. It was supposed to be his face. But he pulled the helmet off and took a deep breath, always missing air on his face even if it was the recycled air of a star ship.

“It’s always me.”

Hux didn’t look away from Ben. He knew, somehow, that it wasn’t entirely true. He didn’t think that he meant to send the feeling to Ben, but he probably did.

“Of course,” Hux murmured, watching him take off the helmet, the way his hair fell, the dark under his eyes. He seemed to be aging in years and not months.

Ben blinked at the unintentional accusation, seeing himself through Hux’s eyes for a second. He looked like he could sleep for a year and still not catch up. His hair was already coming out of the heavy braid and made him look more bedraggled than he felt. No, that was a lie. He felt worked over, exhausted; it was hard to put the neat tiny stitches back in when you felt your soul had just been ripped open. Was he stronger now? Of course he was; he trusted Snoke’s training implicitly and had already known how much power the Supreme Leader had woken in him. But he didn’t feel stronger right now.

“I just had a training session,” he said by way of quiet explanation, dropping his eyes to the helmet sitting on his lap.

Hux frowned, took a deep breath, and then went over to sit down next to Ben on the couch. He was still a good foot or so away from the other man, but it was still closer than they had been in a few days.

“The sort that would rip me apart?” He asked, a little self depreciating, not unkind.

“And not in the fun way,” Ben agreed, looking over at him with the hint of a smile. He looked down to the helmet and smoothed his gloved hand over the top of it. “I mean, they work. It’s training. Solid training.”

“Nothing strong is ever made without sacrifice,” Hux agreed, not consoling, necessarily. It was pragmatic, understanding. As if they had both been through crucibles. He showed no sympathy, no hint of pity. It seemed more like a mantra of the First Order than any personal lenity for Ben’s hurt. “Did you ask me here just for company?”

The way he asked made Ben ashamed that he ever considered it. He was glad that he had more to ask the general about. He raised his face and pushed his braid over his shoulder before looking at Hux again.

“I wouldn’t call you away from the bridge for company.” His voice had recovered some of its commanding tone, even without the vocoder to take away its humanity. “I have need to divert your course once you’re through the Touvarro system.”

“Oh?” Hux’s eyebrows went up a little. “Why?”

“I spoke with the Supreme Leader and he gave me an assignment. I won’t be requiring more than a small detachment of stormtroopers and a shuttle.” Kylo Ren’s face was impassive.

Hux nodded, sitting back, looking upwards. He was going through his schedule carefully, and he frowned just slightly.

“I think a few more details are in order, but it sounds reasonable enough,” he shifted, tugging his sleeve up to look at his wrist comm, flipping to his schedule. Although he already had the _Finalizer’s_ movements memorized, it never hurt to double check, and his digital readout confirmed what he already knew. “Get me the specifics, I’ll run it by our navigator and adjustment officers, and we’ll have it approved within a few hours.”

“I’ll send the coordinates over to you shortly. Approval was already granted.” He tilted his head slightly. “Unless you’ll need to review a command from the Supreme Leader?”

Hux resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m not questioning your orders, I’m simply going through the proper course adjustment protocol,” he pointed out, “there’s more involved than just sending the coordinates to the bridge. Schedules have to be moved around. Deliveries, rotation shifts, drop offs, refuelling, it’s all taken into account. I’m not undercutting your authority by going through the systems in place. If this were an urgent matter it would be different, but as you haven’t said otherwise, I’ll continue to operate the _Finalizer_ as I see fit.”

He stood, pulling his jacket around his shoulders again, slightly annoyed, more at Kylo Ren’s presumptions than the man’s orders.

“We are not at odds on this ship,” he said, looking down at Kylo Ren, “I simply ask that you respect my command, and I will do my utmost to support you in accordance with my own directives. It benefits neither of us to assume otherwise.”

Ben wished he hadn’t taken the helmet off, knowing that he was pressing his mouth, that his eyes were broadcasting his emotions. He clenched his fist on his knee and something on the shelf by the couch started rattling. This wasn’t how he wanted them to talk. Why was it so much easier to just talk into Hux’s head? His voice was his own there. He nodded sharply.

“Just make sure your directives don’t come into conflict with orders from the Supreme Leader. I know it’s difficult for you to be...flexible.”

Hux sighed, “My entire life is comprised of managing infinite adjustments.” He took a step over to Ben, focusing on him, not looking away, not thinking about anything else, just Ben. He didn’t know quite what to say, but he reached out to touch the side of Ben’s head, pressing his fingers under a braid for a few seconds, trying to convey the things that Ben needed to hear; reassurance, trust, the implicit understanding of power and command, their own strange companionship, the idea that together they were a force, they were working towards the same goals of order and power.

“Do not judge me so harshly,” he said quietly, feeling the headache coming on, annoyed that he was still easily rendered incapable. «We were not made so different.»

And Ben was Ben again when he looked up to meet Hux’s eyes. As he always did to make it easier for the general to speak with him this way, his mental walls were down to almost nothing, and it was difficult not to let too many emotions bleed over. His exhaustion and internal pain from his training, his frustration with himself that none of this was as easy as it was supposed to be. He flashed an image for Arrik—the rusted coupler, wrapped up in a scrap of black fabric, still stuffed away in his bag.

«We were created from too much attention and too much neglect all at the same time.» Ben took a deep breath. “You’re going to get a headache.”

Hux swallowed, trying not to show how startled he was at the insight. It was too personal to say aloud, and he was suddenly grateful for the pain behind his temples that allowed him to hear Ben’s voice in absolute solitude.

He nodded and took a step back, his hand dropping. “Get me those details. How long we’ll be stopped, the sort of support you’ll need, any kind of ships you’ll require. All your requests will be given priority.”

The general continued to watch Ben, walking to the exit. “You are free to join me on the bridge. I’ll share my schedule with you, so you’ll know my availability.” So you’ll know where to find me if you need me. It was implied that Ben would know where Hux was at any time, whether he was on the bridge, in a meeting, reviewing data in his office, going to the officer’s gym. He lived his life on the _Finalizer_ by his schedule, and this meant that even without the Force to help him, Ben would be able to locate him, immediately.

“Thank you.” Ben wondered if Hux expected a reciprocal offer, but there wasn’t one to make. He was still outside the structure of the First Order. There was no schedule he could offer, even less of one than the last time he was on board the ship. Some mornings he sparred with Phasma, but even that was most and not all. He spent hours and hours in one of the training rooms that he kept as a permanent reservation, so it would be available to him any time he wanted it.

Hux nodded once. “I’m wanted for a meeting,” he said, opening the door. “I believe you still owe me dinner.”

Ben raised his head to watch him leave, fingers moving restlessly over the bottom edge of his helmet. He wanted to tear the ground apart for him again, to show him the power he had now that wasn’t just delivering orders from Snoke to make him turn his ship from left to right. He was holding the wrong kind of power right now.

“My schedule is open for you, general,” he said as he stood up, tucking the helmet under his arm as he walked toward him. His long strides covered the room quickly, and before Hux could answer, he leaned down to kiss his mouth quickly, bruisingly. He pulled back and smiled before putting his helmet back on and hitting the switch to let the mechanism latch. “I know, you’re not the kissing type. Just consider that a reason to hit me later.”

The kiss caught the general so off guard, he couldn’t formulate a real response, and instead set his shoulders as he took a step backwards.

“I hope you’ll remember you gave permission,” Hux said, a little snappishly, turning away from Ben. He imagined the look on the man’s face after he had been slapped, the bright red of his cheek, maybe even some kind of wide-eyed desire. He curled his fingers slightly, and he suddenly didn’t care if Ben saw it or not, the man on his knees, mouth open, chin up, waiting for the next hit, self control and power contained in trembling shoulders.

“I await your requests, Lord Ren,” Hux said with some finality, leaving Ben in the commander’s wing. The door slid shut behind him, and Ben was left alone.

After a stunned second (who ever saw themselves like that in someone else’s imagination? Was it a taunt? Was it honest to gods real?), Ben abruptly took the helmet off again, tossing it over onto the couch on his way to the refresher. He hoped he could get it cold enough.

His lack of schedule over the next week suited him well; he spent some time actively watching how Hux spent his, then went to work with his lightsaber or to the archives. He lost track of the appropriacy of knowing where the general was at any given time. It was enough to know that Hux was in his berth to contact him from the room he was using to go over digitized texts. He didn’t look to see if the man was sleeping.

«Arrik! Come see what I found!»

It was a stroke of luck that Hux was not sleeping, but sitting at his desk, reviewing reports that were not technically under his authority. He had his own set of spies inside the _Faultless_ and _Indomitable_ in the Eastern quadrants, and despite the fact that it was far outside protocol, took great pleasure in reading up on the men who would challenge him for superiority.

The missive from Ben made him flinch, but he didn’t startle as he had the first few times Ben had so suddenly jumped into his mind. Instead he took a deep breath, steadied himself and stood.

«Did you wait until I was off duty to call me, or is it just bad luck?» He responded, finding his pad and fastening the top button on his jacket before leaving his berth, leaving his gerwool coat across the couch.

There was a trill of disgruntled pride that came along their connection.

«I made sure you weren’t on the bridge or in a meeting. How about a little appreciation, sweet cheeks?»

«Where am I going?» Hux’s tone was resigned and long suffering, even projected across the ship.

A pause between them.

«Can you find me? Actually, nope, that’s probably not something you’ll be able to do and I don’t want you to shoot your eyes out of your head trying. I’m in...meeting room 4.7.»

Hux made an audible noise, but didn’t try to project it, hoping the feeling of annoyance and grudging agreement came through anyway. «I’ll be there shortly.»

«Bring food!»

After that, Ben didn’t say anything else, not wanting to risk the headache that the two of them managed to get Hux to most times. It was always a question of just going a little bit longer, stretching the distance between them a little bit more.

«I will not,» Hux retorted, rolling his eyes as he made his way through the ship down into the depths of the meeting areas. Ben was in the archives, an area where he spent quite a bit of his time, according to the tracker Hux had in the code cylinder. Despite his aversion to being treated like some kind of server, Hux sent a message to the cafe, ordering two meals sent to the room.

Ben was sitting cross legged in the middle of the table, heavy boots scuffing some of the built-in screens he was sitting directly on top of. The vertical screens around the table were layered with documents he alternated pulling to the front and then overlaying with something else he wanted to cross-reference. His helmet, cowl, and lightsaber sat in a chair he’d pulled out from the table, as though giving them a front row seat to his research. His hair was all down and still damp from the refresher, and since he hadn’t anticipated actually seeing anyone else, he’d taken his heavy knit tunic off and was just wearing the softer loose pants that tucked into his boots.

He looked over when he heard the door, or maybe a second before.

“Food?” he asked rather than greeting the general.

Whatever Hux had prepared himself for when he entered the meeting room, a shirtless, rather excited looking Ben Solo sitting on the table was not it. He blinked once, shook his head, and then shut the door behind him, taking a few steps into the room.

“Despite my uniform I am not a waiter at a spice runner’s Empire-themed cantina,” Hux said, obvious confusion coloring his voice. “A droid is bringing up a pair of meals.”

He looked down at the table, pulling some of the documents towards himself, turning them around.

“I’m surprised you managed to find anything in this disaster.”

“I figured you could just bring up something easy. You’d be a cute waiter. Big tips.” Ben winked at him, obviously in a good mood. Not the triumphant way Kylo Ren could have, but the genuinely happy Ben Solo way. “I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t giving it all my attention at first.” In fact, he’d been talking to Mar, where she was bedded down for the night after a successful mission with Betuo, and their conversation had been lightly lascivious, just enough for a tired Knight and one who was supposed to be doing research.

«Ben,» Hux said, eyebrows up. It was almost a warning.

Ben didn’t even know what precisely he was being scolded for, but he figured he’d make it with it. Hux would have just felt it as a soft, warm breath on the back of his neck.

«What?» He reached up and slid one of the documents so it would travel between screens, ending up in front of the general.

Hux made a soft noise, turning his head a little. He frowned, looking back up at Ben and taking the document from where it floated in front of his face.

“I don’t know what you’re looking for,” Hux muttered, reading over the paper. “Or what I’m looking at.”

“Second bit, next to the...I have no idea what that’s a picture of.” Ben twisted his torso and leaned over, half lying on the table. “Here… ‘using the Force to speak to the uninitiated.’” He looked up to Hux’s face and grinned. “That’s you!”

Hux frowned, looking up at him again. “Uninitiated.” He sighed, shaking his head, reading over the paper again. “I thought we were doing fine.”

He felt useless again, annoyed and frustrated. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his hair to the side, reading over the report. “Have you been researching this long?”

“Since I got here,” Ben confirmed as he sat up again. “At first just for anything, then to try to find something to help with your headaches. Practice is helping, sure...but I’ll tell you, I’m a little nervous we’re causing brain bleeding or something long term nightmarish. I want to be able to do this...you know, easily.” _All the time._

Speaking with Sa’marha before she fell asleep had reminded him of how simple it could be. He wasn’t delusional; Hux wasn’t Force sensitive and they wouldn’t be able to talk the way he and the other Knight could. But they had a connection, and Ben knew there had to be a way to make it work.

Hux took another deep breath. This came from a place of concern, a soft part of Ben Solo that had not been calloused over by his training. He swallowed his pride and nodded, reading over the document.

“So how do we make it easier?” Hux asked, looking up at Ben, putting the paper back on the table.

Ben sighed and leaned back on his hands, shaking his head.

“Well, that’s where it all falls down, doesn’t it? All I found was that, like hinting that there are ways, but it doesn’t actually give me solid information. But I figure that’s a good sign, right? That means people have done it before, and that there are ways.” He leaned his head back, exposing his throat while he groaned with annoyance. “Research is the worst. If you’re not finding what you’re looking for anyway.”

“So you called me down here to tell me that you’ve found...nothing?” Hux asked, crossing his arms, eyebrows up. He wasn’t annoyed, really, and he hoped Ben would at least be able to feel that.

“Wrong.” Ben lowered his head so he could look at Hux again. “I found that there is something, somewhere. I just haven’t found it yet.”

“Right, my mistake.” This time Hux did look a little annoyed, “you called me down because there is some information, somewhere, which might not be here at all. Possibly discussing a topic I have little to no knowledge of, and I have never had any aptitude for?” Hux gestured. “Stop me if you think I’m wasting your time on speculation.”

“You are. You should have brought down the food so you could have served me while you speculated and saved us time.” Ben gestured and one of the chair pulled itself in behind Hux, knocking into his knees and forcing him to sit. “What I need from you is exact times and descriptions. When it hurts, what the pain is like, what makes it come on faster or slower. Science!”

“At my expense,” Hux growled lowly, annoyed that he was being pushed around. «You could give me some warning,» he complained, rolling his shoulders back.

«Sorry, I thought you’d hear it coming,» Ben half-apologized, shifting to dig in his pocket for something to keep his hair back. “And yeah, at your expense. You’re the one with the bleeding brain!”

“My brain is not bleeding,” Hux snapped, sitting back. “You’re lucky that I have some time to entertain your vagaries.”

“I guess you could put me on the schedule,” Ben said, grabbing one of the datapads that was lying on the table. He pulled up a new document and set it in front of Hux. “So go on, list everything for me. That way my vagaries won’t be bothering you when I do find something.”

“I haven’t been keeping track of every minor physical inconvenience caused by our conversations.”

“And you call yourself a man of science,” Ben said in a scolding voice. «Could you at least try?»

Hux twisted his mouth but resisted rolling his eyes. “The first time is what I remember clearly.”

“Tell me how I sounded to you, what hurt most, what was easier?” Ben reached over to take the datapad. “I’ll take notes. You can imagine I’m your tiny cute assistant.”

This time there was no force in the universe strong enough to stop Hux’s eyes from rolling. He shook his head and gestured. “You just...resonated. You were there, and it was instinct. I haven’t had to use my mind to do things like move objects or fire the perfect shot, so having another presence, having you right next to me. It was clear.” He pressed his mouth, glancing up at Ben. “You sounded clear. I knew you.”

He took a deep breath, shifting in his chair. “Then it was...like this intense pressure that had built up. It started as a sharp...a sharp hurt, just at the base of my skull,” the officer explained as he gestured to the back of his neck, right where his uniform ended, where his hairline brushed the dark grey material.

Ben had been writing down what the general was saying, but he forgot to type and just watched him as he went on.

“What did it do when I spoke to you? After the pain had started?” he asked.

“It faded when you spoke again, but then...it came back, immediately it was a pounding, just behind my eyes, right here.” He raised his hand to his temple, turning a little to look up at where Ben sat, still half-dressed, hair a little curly-wild. “The edges of my vision got dark, and after that I believe is when we stopped.”

Ben remembered how pale the general had turned, his skin ghostly white under the artificial lights, oddly luminescent in his pain. How awkwardly he’d walked with the threat of pain returning.

“How did it feel when you spoke to me? After the pain had started?”

“The pain moved a little, to my temples, it became all over, almost as if you were, as if the pain were an echo, over and over, and I couldn’t think.” He swallowed, looking up at Ben. “Did you feel any of that?”

“I did...sort of. Sort of traces of it came back to me, though it didn’t hurt? It was more that I felt that you hurt.” Ben looked back down to the datapad, typing quickly. “I don’t know if any of this will help, but hey, maybe we’ll write a book when we sort it out.”

“I’m sure it’ll be so simple,” Hux muttered. “Since we’re no longer exploring uncharted systems, just undocumented ones.”

“Potentially mostly uncharted. I mean, it would be ideal if we found something just here for the taking…” Ben twisted his mouth, reaching over to one of the curved screens and paging through some of the documents that had seemed promising when he’d first found them.

Hux watched him, slightly fascinated by this dedication. It was hard to imagine Ben so studious, so focused when a papercut was the most dangerous part of the endeavor. He got up when his cuff pinged, and went to the door to grab the two meals from the caf.

“Is there a way to tell whether or not my brain is bleeding?” Hux asked, carrying the two trays in and setting them down on a empty part of the table. “Or will we cease contact until you establish a safer method.”

Ben looked over at the smell of food, shifting so his legs hung off the edge of the table. He reached for one of the trays.

“I made that up; I have no idea if it could be doing anything physical like that. I was just guessing at something that seemed horrible. I guess they could do a scan down in the medbay?” He paused. “Do you feel like your brain’s bleeding?”

“No, I don’t feel as if my brain is bleeding,” he snorted, sitting down and pulling a plate towards himself.

“Then I think we should just, you know, proceed with moderate caution.” Ben started eating, hungrier than he’d realized. “Tomorrow you’re dropping me off for a bit, so you’ll have time for your brain blood to recover itself.”

“The Urrin-Var system,” Hux said, nodding. “If you feel like your mission needs an extension, let me know as soon as possible.” He shifted forward, starting to eat his meal.

“Yeah, of course.” He paused, cutting the fish into smaller and smaller pieces with the edge of his fork. “We probably shouldn’t try doing this at that distance.”

“If we never try, we never will.” Hux said sharply, looking up at him again. “Unless you’re afraid I’ll drop dead of an aneurysm on the bridge. You didn’t seem to have a problem trying when we had entire systems between us.”

“I didn’t know what it was doing, potentially. And in fairness, it didn’t really work so well.” He set his fork down.

“You don’t even want to try?” Hux sounded disappointed and annoyed all at once

Ben watched him for a moment, the food he’d been so insistent he get completely forgotten in front of him. He wasn’t sure what Hux’s motivation for this was. The uniqueness of being someone without the Force to do this? His drive for success at every venture he put his hand to? Or did he really want that connection to him specifically, that craved privacy Ben had tried to explain to him when this whole experiment had started?

“How am I going to know if you suddenly black out on the bridge?” he asked seriously.

“I’ll be in my berth, if you’re worried you can ping me on my pad, since we won’t be that far away, and if you’re really as strong as you think you are, you can just feel how much pain I’m in.” He shrugged, taking another bite. “I’ll be responsible.”

“As I think I am?” It was Ben’s turn to roll his eyes as he looked down to a few files he’d pulled up onto the table’s screens. He shifted himself closer to Hux to look over one he’d been sitting on. “I think I can handle it.”

“Good.” Hux didn’t even hide the challenge in his voice earlier, and he was smug as he spoke now. “We’ll try when you’re on Aet’ye.”

“Maybe I’ll just scream at you if I get injured in the fighting,” Ben said with a little smirk, not even remotely concerned about something as banal as being wounded. He didn’t really even see it as  
a possibility. “How would you like that in the middle of the night?”

“Knowing our luck, it would be in the middle of something more important than sleep.”

“I’m a little excited to know what’s more exciting than sleep,” Ben said, wiggling his eyebrows. Here, with the trappings of Kylo Ren on a chair pushed away from him, it was easy to tease.

“Meetings, project reviews, code rewrites,” Hux listed out quickly, smirking, “overseeing trooper training, watching technicals, shooting, cleaning the shooting range, cleaning my weapon, running two entire quadrants.” Hux raised his eyebrows, leaning back.

“Oh, okay. Okay, I get it. I get it. Plucking your eyebrows is not only more important than sleep, it’s more important than me. Got it, got it.” Ben reached for the glass of water on his tray, grin out in the open.

«Don’t get injured.» Hux ordered directly into Ben’s head, looking up at him, eyes icy. «Seems like the easiest solution.»

Ben blinked and held the eye contact a long moment. With his walls down, it wasn’t just a voice; so much of it was the essence of the other person, their emotions and peripheral thoughts coloring the actual words. When Arrik Hux wanted to, his mental voice was incredibly sharp and laser precise.

«Top of my list, sweet cheeks. You’ve seen me train. I don’t think I have much to worry about.»

«Complacency leads to extinction.» He responded, glancing down at the papers again, his voice not unlike the crack of a whip. It was sure, absolute, as if he were speaking of the First Order and not out of something bordering on concern. He swallowed, and turned his head slightly, feeling something like pain at the back of his skull, pushing it down, ignoring it.

Ben recognized the head turn, though; the general would hate to be told he had a tell, but the Knight definitely knew the angle of his jaw, the tightness by his mouth.

«Extinction is a big word when we’re just talking about me.» He watched Hux carefully.

«Your kind of power merits its use.» Hux blinked, frowning deeply, swallowing. The pain was dull, not unbearable. He would push himself.

«If I go extinct, what does that mean for you?» Ben kept his voice low and quiet, more gentle than he ever spoke to his Knights. The growing pain was communicated between them; he let himself feel it now, the spreading pressure like a metal hand at the back of his skull, the pounding in his temples.

Hux shook his head, closing his eyes, «You won’t.»

“You hurt now,” Ben said as he leaned toward him, scrutinizing the general’s pale face. “Tell me about it.”

Hux nodded, eyes shut tightly as he pressed it all down. “Pounding, behind my eyes. The light hurts, I’m just...” He took a deep, shaky breath almost, feeling the nausea come and go quickly. He looked back up at Ben. “If we stop now, I’ll be fine.”

Ben studied Hux a moment longer before typing a few notes. “That didn’t take very long,” he said without looking up. “And we’re at close range. Too close maybe? I wonder if distance makes it better rather than worse?”

Sighing, Hux sat back. “It never takes very long.” He considered asking Ben to just switch to normal pings and Tower messages, but he knew that the man wouldn’t take well to that suggestion. The officer could already imagine the look of hurt and disappointment on his face, and he resigned himself. He knew from the moment of its inception that Ben’s project would come at his expense.

“Why are images easier?”

Ben took a deep breath as he tried to think about the question from several angles.

“I think it might be because...that’s how we actually process thought. Then we construct words from there, from the pictures. So an image is a simpler, less processed form of thought, so they go through more easily.” He shrugged and slid his tray away from himself. “That’s my guess anyway.”

“But they’re harder to define, even feelings, they’re not...specific,” Hux said, frowning. “That must leave you open, or vulnerable.”

Ben laughed and leaned back until he was lying on the table, obscuring most of the screens. He folded his arms beneath his head and looked up at the dark ceiling.

“That’s why eventually we’ll do it with careful channels that don’t mean leaving walls down all the time.” He was vulnerable, and knew it, but it didn’t matter with Hux because he wasn’t Force sensitive and couldn’t get in. The only danger was letting too much of something out. Thus far, since this was mainly a casual exercise, it hadn’t been a concern.

“Careful channels?” Hux asked, standing up. “I can barely figure out how this works, much less adjust the wavelength.”

Ben watched him, though he made no move to rise. His damp hair was spread over the screens creating a web-like filter that only allowed a few bright letters to peek through.

“Don’t worry about it, alright? We’ll just take it slow.” He laughed and shrugged, bare back still pressed against the slightly warm screens underneath him. “I know, you and I are both terrible with that sort of advice.”

Hux hummed, reaching out to touch Ben’s ankle, watching his hand as he walked up the side of the table slowly, dragging his fingers along Ben’s clothed leg. “Which part?” He asked, pausing before his fingers touched flesh, the hard line of his hip, the curve of the bone there, “taking things slow or not worrying?”

Ben’s eyelashes flickered but beyond that he didn’t move at all. He was stretched out on the table, and felt it suddenly, how much of him was there for Hux to view at his leisure. There were new scars and old together, tightly packed muscles that were now sharper and more visible against his skin than they had been in the past.

“Both,” he said lightly, still looking up into the space above the lights. “At least, I hate taking things slow and you hate not having things to worry about.”

“It makes us quite mismatched,” Hux muttered, sliding his gloved hand more firmly across Ben’s torso, walking up towards Ben’s head. “Patient and impulsive.” His hand slid over Ben’s chest, thumb brushing against the dark nub there. He noted the scars along the side of Ben’s ribcage, new ones, before he pressed against his collarbone, held onto his shoulder.

Sliding only his eyes over to watch the general, Ben took a deep breath just to feel the light pressure it created between his body and Hux’s hand. _This is what silent speech is for_ , he thought to himself as though he could speak to the other man, _so I could make you feel exactly what I want, so I can tell you what to do, so you can tell me what you’re planning._

“Or better matched,” he argued quietly. “I make sure things get done, you make sure I don’t blow myself up in the process.”

Hux didn’t respond immediately, his hand running up Ben’s neck, pressing against the side of his jaw. He hummed low in his throat, pushing against Ben’s jaw to turn his head to the side.

“Seems simple,” he murmured, pressing his hand against the back of Ben’s head, holding onto his wild, barely dried curls. His breath caught in his throat as he imagined jerking Ben backwards, dragging his head over the edge of table, holding him still as he pulled out his cock, sliding it slowly into Ben’s mouth. It seemed so easy; in his mind he would lean over the man to press himself in, hands on Ben’s torso, Ben would reach behind himself hold onto the general’s thighs, choking himself.

He wasn’t sure if he meant to project the images, the base thoughts, but if he did so, he didn’t care. The officer released Ben’s hair, walking to a chair and pulling it close, catching Ben’s gaze. The Knight looked back at him, not turning his head away while he took slow, deep breaths. He had definitely learned control; it kept his hands still, it kept the rush of color from his face, it kept him from grabbing the front of the general’s uniform or using the Force to press him up against a wall while he tore at his clothes to hear the fabric ripping and to reveal his skin in pale uneven glimpses. Did he know he could see them, those images Hux forced himself to push down? He held the other man’s pale eyes in the hush of the room, damning the other man’s headache but letting him see for an instant the blood welling from scratching along the general’s inner thighs, bite marks that would be bruises for days even if they were hidden under high collars, the open mouthed wordless gasping as Hux choked from an invisible grip around his unmarked throat and struggled against invisible bonds where he knelt on the bridge of his ship. Kylo Ren took another deep breath and the air was hot in his lungs.

“So, so patient,” Ben growled.

Hux’s eyes widened, and he realized that Ben probably saw everything he had entertained for something that could barely be called a second. He swallowed and took a step backwards to sit down in the chair, glad that whatever headache he accumulated from the connection between them had faded. Taking a deep breath, he watched Ben without moving, not breaking his gaze. How did he explain to this man, who wanted just as much as he did, why he continued to refuse.

“I am not one for consorting with those who are my equal in rank,” he said slowly, “I demand priority.”

“I am no general,” Kylo murmured, voice a low rumble even without his helmet.

“Yet, you are not beneath me,” Hux responded, his face slightly red. “I cannot...I won’t allow myself to compromise my power, when you are so much more...” He snapped his mouth shut, setting his jaw. “My position must remain untouchable.”

“I’m still the sum of my power with my mask off,” the Knight said, still not turning his head away. “Without your bars of rank, what would mean you were still a general?” «What would make you an emperor?»

Hux frowned but didn’t move, his jaw staying tense, mouth thinning. He did not look away from Ben, not turning his head from Ben’s gaze even under the light pressure that pounded behind his eyes.

«Conviction.»

There was an undercurrent there, he knew it. Not just conviction but direction and implementation. Not just his absolute decisions, but the accompanying hand, a strong stance, a man like Kylo Ren, a man like Ben, by his side. It was more than just conviction, it was the need for invocation.

“Your conviction is untouchable, general,” Kylo said, sitting up. His eyes were intense; there was no trace of Ben Solo in the lines of his face. «So what’s missing?» He turned to face Hux, sitting with his lower legs hanging off the edge of the table, hands on his knees as though he was just waiting for something.

«Application.» Hux swallowed, watching Ben, «the correct use of power, the correct man to wield it, the correct man to direct it.» He took a deep breath, blinking, shaking his head. The sedition was palatable, choked his throat with want.

“This is...irrelevant to our current situation.” He frowned, looking down, away from Ben.

Not only irrelevant, it was dangerous, it was treason, it was not something two loyal men of their position even hinted at. But it was arousing, as arousing as imagining Arrik’s quickened breathing while the harsh red fire of the lightsaber was next to his throat, as imagining the front of his impeccable uniform spattered with thick red. So maybe it was relevant, in a way it shouldn’t have been.

«Tell me what you want.» He knew what the man wanted and returned the image from earlier, overlaid with every time the general had had him on his knees before him.

Hux looked up at Ben, obviously breathing harder now, eyes bright with want. He swallowed, shifting slightly, looking over the Knight’s body without shame. His eyes met Ben’s again.

“I want you to give me control. I want you to want that. To let me have you, keep you.” It was too desperate, too open, and Arrik’s mouth closed fast, his face flushed for a few seconds before he stood up, pressing it all down.

He stood quickly, walking past Ben towards the door, fully intending to leave the meeting room.

«Wait.» Kylo’s hand was up before Hux could tap the control panel for the door, holding the man frozen for a moment before he released him. He was still in shock from what Hux had said aloud, what Arrik had just confessed with his chair pulled back far enough from the table to keep his face in shadow. And then to just leave him? «If I gave you that, let that power rest in your hands, what would I get?»

Kept as he was, Hux didn’t move, didn’t fight against him. “Loyalty. Trust.” It was the highest offering, the most vulnerable lamb he could lay before the Knight who would be a god, with the all the powers of one poised to rip apart systems only to allow Hux to rebuild them in Order, in time. “Understanding.”

He shook his head, feeling exposed. He looked over at Ben, glaring at him. A few minutes passed before Arrik concentrated hard, his shoulders square, glacial eyes narrowed, mustering his considerable will and pushing through the headache that threatened him.

«Say something!»

Ben remembered the hot sting of the slap against his face. Kylo Ren remembered watching the edges of the cigarette case darken when the vent gates opened. Kylo Ren remembered the feeling in the room when Hux held his breath and Darth Vader’s helmet was brought out into the light. Ben remembered Arrik’s voice like an icy breeze against his ear- Do it! He remembered ripping up the garden on Arkanis while Brendol Hux’s last remnants moldered in the ground below them. He remembered the bite of glass between his ribs. Corellian whiskey on his tongue. Takhar Ren’s body in the dirt. The way he was always aware of Arrik’s teeth beneath his lips when he kissed him.

«Make me yours, and I’ll make you emperor.» He gestured quickly and the door flew open, flooding the room with the brighter hall lights. The sudden brightness made Hux seem clothed in white, untouchable.

Arrik didn’t move for a few more seconds. He nodded once.

“We will meet tomorrow,” he instructed, turning away from Ben. “I’ll tell you when.”

“I’ll keep an eye out. Sweet cheeks.” He leaned back on his hands, comfortable and dangerous as any other large predator.

Hux left immediately, not looking back as he returned to his berth. Whatever he had been expecting, that was not it. Cultivating an insurgency was not high on his list of priorities, but it had suddenly been pushed to the forefront of his mind by a rather insistent force user with potential to become one of the most dangerous men in existence.

Their conversation twisted through Ben’s head the rest of the rotation. Different aspects of it burned through his brain, the tight sensation of Arrik’s mental pain, then the unfocused repression of those pictures. Those images. This hadn’t been the first time, those short bursts of passion that the general was obviously trying not to think. Did Hux really think about his mouth like that, the way his head leaned back? Did Arrik Hux think about him that way when he was on the bridge of his ship? When he was taking out target after target on the range?

* * *

 

Kylo Ren wasn’t quite Ben Solo when he lounged on his bed in his robe after his late night shower, thinking over those things. The half light of the bedroom cast strange shadows on the wall; they were angular then curved around corners. He imagined how Hux’s cheeks would look when he opened his mouth wide, how his cheekbones would create a hollow beneath, how the shadows would gather against his skin in the dimness of the room. It was a stunning picture, and it was too much to keep to himself.

And it was so easy to share images, Hux had said. Kylo had no idea where the man was, but he projected his own imaginings to him. He realized that the general wasn’t likely to find himself as arousing Kylo did. So after a few minutes, he sent different things. His own mouth when he’d bitten through his lip during training, the blood on his mouth in the mirror. The line of his long thigh when he raised his knee and the dark robe fell away from his body.

In the rooms next to Ben’s, Hux’s eyes suddenly snapped open. He had been trying hard (so, so hard) not to respond, not to even react to to the images, ideas and sensations that Ben was sending over. He had to sleep, stars burn it all, he only had so many hours in his rest cycle and Ben was actively preventing him from peace. He laid still on his bed and finally started to relax.

There was surprisingly little reaction to any of them, or maybe that wasn’t so surprising. Hux kept his emotions, his everything, locked down very tightly, and as Kylo wasn’t actually going into his head to see what was going on, the silence he got back was what he had to make do with. He dozed a little, then woke up already bored.

So he shared again. He shared sensations this time, not things he’d seen but things he’d felt. The dull pain of his knees when they hit the floor, the broad stroke of his tongue on the underside of someone’s cock, the ache in his back as he knelt with his wrists bound to his ankles, head pulled back when someone twisted his long hair around their hand and yanked it back.

Hux wanted to sleep, fuck it all, but Ben was insistent. He got out of his bed, furious, tired and not thinking straight, and he allowed Ben to manipulate him. The general didn’t have to wait for Ben to unlock the doors to his room, Hux went in unannounced and stormed into Ben’s bedroom.

“I’m trying to sleep you uninhibited animal,” Hux growled, glaring down at Ben, “you couldn’t wait one kriffing day.”

When he’d heard the door open, Ben had allowed himself to smile broadly. But when the general was standing at the foot of his bed, it was Kylo Ren’s slow smile that looked up at him, dark eyes protesting innocence only because his lowered eyelashes hid the the layers of sin. He took a deep breath, lowering his knee and sliding his foot down against the top of the grey comforter while raising his other knee. It remained bare as well when the opening of the robe shifted to uncover it.

“What? What are we talking about here, general?” he asked, leaning back on his elbows comfortably. “One day for what?”

Hux didn’t waste time, he leaned down and immediately pressed his hand in between Ben’s legs, finding the other man’s cock easily. He reached up with his other hand, pulling Ben’s hair back roughly, exposing his neck so that Hux could lean down and bite him hard, just at the base where the Knight’s heavy shoulders sloped upwards.

Ben grunted in surprise, reaching up one hand to steady himself and tightening his fingers in the front of Hux’s pajama top. He pulled the general forward as he leaned back, wanting to feel his weight on his body. Arrik felt warm even if his room felt colder. Not warm- his mouth felt hot against his bare skin, the burning end of a cigarette.

He moved his hand, grabbing at the back of Hux’s neck and holding him in a tight grip. His nerves all felt sensitive; he could feel the brush of the general’s neatly trimmed hair against his hand.

«Is this what you want?»

Arrik shifted to get on top of Ben, his hand away from Ben’s dick, fingers still tangled in the man’s dark hair. His mouth was pressed to Ben’s neck, biting and sucking at his skin. He didn’t even flinch at the thought as Ben pushed it through his head.

He sent images to Ben then—the man on his back with his mouth open, Ben fingering himself as Arrik watched from across the room. He shifted slightly, straddling Ben’s hips, a hand still in his dark curls. He put two fingers in Ben’s mouth, shoving them in down to his knuckle.

Ben gagged against the intrusion, instinct rising up in him as he tried to push Arrik away from him. After the initial moment of shock, he tightened his fingers on the back of Arrik’s neck, nails digging into the pale flesh there. He set his feet on the bed and pushed his hips up against the other man, cock hard as it pressed against the general’s ass. One foot slipped and he made a noise around the fingers in his mouth.

He was going to let this happen. He could have thrown Hux across the room and broken his back; he’d been trained to be cold enough to step over his shattered body and go to get himself a drink. But this was what he wanted. He wanted to see what Arrik would do with trust.

«You know what I could do.» His mental voice was low and calm, at odds with the immediate tension in the room. Tendrils of invisible power slipped around Arrik’s neck, caressing before tightening for a moment. A reminder.

Arrik made a noise a low in his throat, leaning down a little more. Gods, he wanted Ben’s hands on him, his power around him. He twisted his hand in Ben’s hair, shifting back. He sent another image to Ben, of the Knight on his stomach, ass up. Ben moaned in Arrik’s head, the sound more like feeling, more like something that traveled down his nerves to feel like his open mouth around the general’s cock, his teeth scraping along the tender skin, his strong hand twisting around the base. He closed his mouth around Arrik’s fingers, sucking on them for a moment before sliding his tongue between them. He fought against the strong hand in his hair, not because he wanted to get away, but because he wanted to feel the struggle. He wanted Arrik to feel it.

Hux leaned over him more, pushing his fingers in and out of Ben’s mouth, pulling his head back even harder. He made a gasping noise and leaned down, biting Ben’s shoulder. He set an image to Ben, almost a question as he crouched over the other man, holding Ben down. He didn’t even try to send the feelings, they just seemed to flow into the Knight.

It came across clearly, even as Arrik bit a bruise into Ben’s skin. Arrik _sitting up, over Ben, still holding him by his hair, slapping him hard. He wanted to see Ben’s eyes water, see him gasp in shock and pain, feel the way his breath held in his throat._

Ben dug his nails into the back of Arrik’s neck again, hissing into his head. «Then do it.» He held up his other hand and shoved Hux back, nearly choking himself. He wiped his wrist over his mouth, smiling ferally at the other man.

“You’ll have to hit hard, general. I’m stronger than I was.” He closed his hand and let Arrik feel it again, fingers around his throat, in his throat, choking him without touching him. “If you want me, come and get me.” It was his turn to show Arrik things he’d considered, blood on the other man’s bare chest, the view from his knees as he looked up to the general. Looking into a mirror and setting his hand over the red mark on his cheek as he jerked off.

It played out almost like a premonition, Hux slid back slightly, the curve of his ass pressing against Ben, and when he slapped the man lying underneath him, Arrik left a handprint clearly against his cheek. He leaned down to lick a stripe along Ben’s jaw, pressing his cheek against Ben’s, and after feeling the heat there, made a soft moaning noise.

Ben breathed heavily against Arrik’s ear. It took everything in him not to hit back, not to leave an answering mark somewhere on the general’s skin. He reached down to grip his ass with both hands, holding him still as he moved his hips against him, grinding against the firm pressure of the other man’s body against his.

«You know I would have you on your knees over the table. I would tear you apart.» He pushed the harsh words into Hux’s mind, gritting his teeth.

Arrik laughed, more like something low and dangerous than amused before sitting up. He let go of Ben’s hair to quickly pull off his shirt, then started pulling at the robe Ben had tied around his waist. He didn’t prefer this sort of coupling, totally naked and vulnerable, but he needed Ben on him, needed to be in him.

He shifted, dragging himself off Ben, laying the robe open, eyes taking in the man under him.

«Turn over,» the officer demanded, again showing Ben in a position with his face against the pillows, his ass up in the air, waiting for Arrik.

Ben struggled out of the robe and left it in a wrinkled pile beside him. He put his hand to the side of Arrik’s head, grabbing his hair and pulling him close to kiss him hard, biting at his bottom lip when he didn’t open his mouth fast enough. His hand moved down to the side of Hux’s neck. He felt he’d been waiting years for this, all the unnecessary tension that had built up between them. He tasted blood and knew it was Arrik’s; he grinned as he pulled back.

“Oops.” He tapped his fingers under the general’s chin with a dull thud as he forced his face up for a second. Baring his teeth in something that could never be called a smile, Ben got up onto his knees to look down at Arrik before turning and grabbing the pillow. He lowered his head and shoulders, feeling himself exposed and he slid his knees back to brace himself. He could feel Arrik behind him, the intrinsic Arrik with all of his emotions unguarded and nearly overwhelming him. This was what he’d wanted, Ben Solo, Kylo Ren, as self-given gift.

“Stars,” Arrik murmured, shifting back, pulling himself free of his knit trousers and briefs, tossing them aside as he knelt up behind Ben, hands on his hips. He squeezed hard, digging his nails into Ben’s skin before he pulled back and brought his hand down hard on the man’s ass. Ben made a surprised sound in protest, head coming up again. Arrik leaned forward, his dick hard, pressing against Ben.

«Rough,» Arrik swallowed, a thumb already pressing against Ben’s entrance. He sent a vague thought of ‘ _oil, unguent,_ ’ over to Ben, but wasn’t insistent.

Ben almost rolled his eyes, pressing his face into down into the pillow again. He’d come storming in and hadn’t even been prepared? Was he new? Arrik felt the annoyance and pushed his thumb harder against Ben. The Knight groaned into the pillow, sending back a wordless insult. Without looking, he held his left hand out to the side. A drawer pulled itself open with enough force to yank it off the tracks. It clattered to the floor, but a bottle (half-empty) shot itself at Arrik’s chest before falling onto the bed. The tube was bright blue, emblazoned with the yellow words “Grunt Grease” and a grinning green penis character.

«Prep me, but don’t be ridiculous about it. I want to feel you.» Ben pushed himself back against Hux, against his hand, wanting his cock. The temperature in the room had risen several degrees.

This entire thing was ridiculous. Hux tried not to be too put off by the tube, focusing on Ben’s body, the turn of his neck, the needy way that Ben leaned into him again. He put some of the oil onto his hand and pressed his middle finger into Ben, leaning over him, his free hand in Ben’s hair again. He shoved Ben’s face into the pillow, the heel of his palm against the back of Ben’s neck as he slowly worked his finger into him.

He pushed a second finger in quickly, not giving Ben time to adjust, turning his hand to pull his hair. He wanted it to hurt, he wanted to hear the other man, to see the way he came apart in his hands.

Ben knew exactly what Arrik wanted, and it was much too early in the game to give it to him. He took a deep, gasping breath when the general yanked his head up by the hair, but otherwise he made no noise, no grunt of pain or pleasure. The tension in the other man’s body seemed like an electricity that ran through both of them, the way the tendons pulled in Arrik’s forearms, the way the muscles in his shoulders pressed against his skin. Ben pushed himself onto Arrik’s fingers then pulled forward, making his own rhythm.

Arrik yanked back on Ben’s hair, creating an uncomfortable angle. He stilled his hand, pressing his fingers into Ben hard, the base of his knuckles pressing against his ass.

«Stay,» the order came across clearly, knowingly. Arrik was still hard, and gods, he wanted to take the man now, but he refused to give in, just as Ben refused to open his mouth, tried to take control when none had been given to him.

Staring directly ahead at the wide, shiny headboard, Ben held himself still as the muscles protested along his backbone. But he was strong, very strong, and he held himself like a man sculpted in stone, feeling Arrik’s eyes on him, the pressure of his fingers in him. He tensed himself, tightening his muscles around the general’s fingers. The moment was silent. He made no sound in it.

Arrik twisted his fingers in Ben, running his hand down Ben’s back slowly. If Ben wanted to tease, he’d be teased. Arrik stayed still for a few seconds before he began to push his fingers into Ben again, twisting once, curling the second time.

It was difficult to stay quiet; it wasn’t that Ben didn’t want to make a sound. He swallowed with difficulty, letting his head drop forward again when Arrik released his hair. How much did the general want him to give up?

This was not what Arrik had planned. He wasn’t sure what he had wanted until Ben was splayed in front of him, but he sent the images to him, one after the other, incessant as he just used two fingers to draw out Ben’s frustrations. An image of Ben on the bed, face down, as Arrik played with him, just like this, in full uniform, barely leaning against the mattress. Ben with his face covered in Arrik’s cum, his mouth open as Arrik’s gloved fingers worked over his sore mouth, pulling the spunk from his cheeks onto his tongue. Arrik’s mouth on Ben’s ass, tongue laving over his rim without stopping, reaching under his leg to hold onto Ben’s hefty, swollen cock, but refusing to jerk him off.

When Ben could finally make a noise, it was at odds with the intense images running through his mind, the force of it all likely pushing Arrik toward a massive headache. He laughed aloud, even as his body tightened while imagining the cool of leather on his skin. The laugh was harsh and he muffled it down in the pillow before raising his head. He laughed again, letting it be loud and dismissive, letting it filter down through Arrik’s thoughts. He imagined a whip on the backs of Arrik’s legs, he imagined Arrik muttering swear words against his ear, dirty things the general had probably never heard, he imagined letting the man hunt him through lush green forests like his training ground with a single blaster while he listened for Arrik’s quickened breathing. He let Arrik feel for a minute, just in his head, what it would be like to be dirty, hunted, bleeding from several cuts on his body, knowing that Kylo Ren was watching him. Could take him at any time.

That was the man who was letting this happen. This was the danger who was letting him take control.

Arrik growled low in his throat, unable to speak. Without warning, mental or otherwise, he pulled his fingers out of Ben, slicked up his own cock and pushed the head into the other man. His hands held onto Ben, digging into his hips as he slowly moved into him, dragging it out.

“Damned gods in the dark, harder!” Ben commanded him in a guttural voice, pushing his ass back against Arrik to force the man deeper. Just because Arrik loved to wait for everything didn’t mean he did. The heavy muscles in his thighs contracted as his fingers left marks in the sheets. His own cock was hard and ached to be touched but he focused on the other man’s body instead.

Arrik quickly reached down to pull on Ben’s hair, forcing his head back again. He pressed deep into Ben, breathing hard, flushed. He felt that sweat from the humidity of the forest dripping down his back, and he was sure it was just the image that made his hand stutter along the slope of Ben’s back as he began to thrust into the man, unable to project, but feeling as if he were feeling everything, as if Ben were feeling him.

The general was as rough as Ben had wanted him to be, as strong as the body under his uniform should be. Wiry strength, the kind someone wouldn’t expect from the man. Arrik’s hipbones were sharp and hard, his fingers had wound into Ben’s long hair as though tangling himself up in the other man. Ben absorbed it all, his own sensations, the ones that Hux let slip from his unguarded mind. As he moaned, finally giving that to Arrik, he pushed those feelings back at Arrik, letting him feel phantom fingers sliding against him, inside him every time he thrust forward, letting him feel teeth against his inner thighs when he pulled back.

 _What would it be like,_ he let them wonder together, _to be blinded by blood and sweat, to smell rich loam and their own hot cum on the forest floor, to make this, like everything else, a battle, and for one man to emerge a victor?_

The officer wasn’t prepared for this, for any of it. He gasped aloud, hands on Ben’s back, just above his ass, and he pounded into him, letting himself imagine alongside Ben, closing his eyes, and he was there. This was exceptional, almost beyond explanation. Arrik felt the cold ground of Kinath-I, he pressed Ben into the crevices of his grand weapon, fucked him hard into the snow. He felt the blood in his mouth, he heard the guns fire overhead, he felt the heat at his back.

In the moment, Hux pulled Ben up by his elbows, bent him backwards, changed the angle of his hips as he continued to move against Ben, inconsiderate of the other man’s needs, making it hurt. He wanted Ben to cry out, he wanted Ben to come untouched. Arrik leaned forward, kissing Ben’s neck, sucking and biting, leaving a dark string of bruises as he slowed his pace.

Ben’s toes curled to grip the sheets, which were folded and tangled beneath and around them. He leaned his head back, feeling himself tethered, bridled, as he spread his legs slightly wider. Snow...why was there snow? He burned it away with the heat of the jungle, the nights dripping from the dark leaves that were red and green with edges that glowed in the dark. He pushed himself back against Arrik, down onto each thrust.

Arrik growled against Ben’s skin, and gods, it felt as if they were approaching climax at the same time as if they had become so connected that nothing separated them. He continued to push into Ben, hips digging into Ben’s ass as he moved against him. Gods, he was close, and he knew Ben was too, felt him inside and out.

The temperature in the room soared, outstripping the attempts of the air climate regulator to cool it down. In that minute, Ben Solo wanted a hundred things. He wanted Arrik’s hand on his cock, encased in its perfectly fitting glove. He wanted to hear the birds screaming outside the Temple window. He wanted to feel his forehead against the ground with Arrik’s hand on the back of neck. He wanted to rip the ship apart when he came. He wanted to hold Arrik against the wall without even using his hands and burn him, leave a permanent mark on him with his lightsaber. The images exploded in the front of the general’s mind like blaster fire.

Ben roared as he came, arms still pinned behind his back as his body pulled him forward. It was like a sonic boom in the room, the walls seeming to contract before the pressure released. He could hear his ragged breathing, muscles all tight as Arrik continued to push him forward.

Arrik could fulfil one of the visions, and he immediately pushed Ben back down onto the bed, curled over him as he pushed into him only a few more times, not able to hold back under the onslaught of feelings and overwhelming images. He pressed his hand against the back of Ben’s head, Arrik’s breathing ragged as he came hard, gasping at the intensity.

«Ben…» His thought literally trailed off as he pulled back, dick going soft as he ran his hands down Ben’s back. He swallowed, blinking hard, and decided that this was too much, and maybe not enough at the same time. Arrik swallowed and then leaned away from Ben, pushing him down onto the bed, on his side.

The Knight dragged his hand through his hair as he let the general push him over, still catching his breath. The color was high in his cheeks and he looked lazy and self-satisfied, eyes half-lidded as he watched the general. Glancing around the room, he saw empty spots on shelves where his passion had unknowingly toppled tech and decor; that wasn’t new. He’d once blasted out a full plate window when a girl had touched him just right with her third hand.

He looked the general over, taking in the flush that was on his face, his neck, his chest. The bed was a disaster; he could smell them every time he inhaled.

Arrik was still kneeling up, looking over Ben, breathing hard. He swallowed, and for a second he was unsure of what he should do next. Ben smiled at him then, crookedly and with his eyebrows high on his forehead.

“Next time,” he said with a yawn. “It’s my turn.”

There wasn’t enough energy in Arrik to form a completely coherent thought, but the idea of those phantom teeth, the force wrapped around his neck, Ben’s power inside of him, it was almost enough to make him hard again. He pushed his desires down with an icy hand, and looked away from Ben. Swallowing, he crawled backwards, sliding off the bed, numbing his feet as he touched the hard, cold floor. The room was far too hot, and everything that was General Arrik Hux had a difficult time reconciling his thoughts and desires with actual action.

He took a deep breath and took the few steps over to pull on his discarded briefs and pants, then returned to Ben’s bed and sat down, still unable to look at the other man. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had done, but he thought, in the back of his mind, that it might have been a better tactical move to not seem so eager.

But gods, it had been so good.

Arrik reached out, not looking at the raven-haired man, already knowing him, knowing where he lay, and put his hand on Ben’s face, fingertips brushing his hair, thumb pressed lightly into the dip at the corner of his eye.

Raising his eyes to Arrik’s face, Ben didn’t move his head. He held himself still as though the other man would startle easily. Since Arrik’s gaze was somewhere else, the Knight let himself look the general over slowly, how the flush had barely receded from his fair skin, how he worked his mouth but didn’t say anything.

Arrik swallowed, not saying anything. He knew that Ben was watching him, could feel it, saw it without seeing it. Ben was so much more than he was, contained so much power and anger and hurt and feeling, it was impossible not to feel overwhelmed. Arrik thought very little of a great many people, but he thought for a few seconds that Ben contained galaxies.

“Now would be a good time for one of those cigarettes,” Ben said finally, breaking away to look around the room. He saw the opened case on his dresser and winced a little. The idea to move might have been a little premature. He stretched his legs out and enjoyed the stiff muscles he was forcing to move, that pleasing ache that ran up his back. There would be bruises on his neck, he knew already, just as there would be torn skin scabbing over on the back of Arrik’s.

Arrik swallowed, and nodded, refusing to be unsure. He took a deep breath and pulled his hand back.

“I should return to my rooms.”

“Is that a moral ‘should’ or a scheduled ‘should’ or do you just not know what to say to me right now?” Ben shook his hair back from his face; it was snarled and twisted from Arrik’s hands.

Arrik ran his hands over his thighs, and swallowed. He gestured vaguely and tried to tell Ben without words that he didn’t know what to say, what Ben wanted. He took a deep breath and looked over Ben, eyebrows up.

“What do you want from me?”

“I didn’t ask for anything.” Ben sat up in a rush and grabbed onto Arrik’s chin, fingers hard against his jaw as he pulled him toward himself. He paused when they were close enough that he could breathe into Hux’s barely open mouth. “I just planned on taking it.” He kissed him, still holding onto his face with his grip nearly tight enough to bruise. He pushed Arrik’s face away from him, smirking to himself.

Ben should be restrained, Arrik thought bitterly. He swallowed, not fighting the other man, just watching him, face still red, a little breathless. He turned away, jaw tight. “Answer me, Ben.”

“I told you what I wanted.” Ben leaned back on his elbows again, comfortably nude and unapologetic as he lounged against the dark sheets. “A cig. Non-ration. Got one?”

“As I didn’t come prepared for our encounter, I’m sure that you’ve gathered that no, I don’t have a cig.”

“Then I guess you should go back to your room.” Ben watched Arrik closely, analyzing how clipped his words were and how unsure his hands were where they rested on his knees.

Arrik shrugged and stood up, turning to face Ben. He knew that he would not permit any of this uncertainty to haunt him tomorrow, and realized that maybe for a few more minutes it wouldn't hurt either of them to be indulgent.

He leaned down, putting his hand on Ben’s throat, and kissed the other man almost gently, indolently. It was selfish and hedonistic, and Arrik kissed Ben as if he wanted to memorize the way his mouth felt.

At the light press of Arrik’s mouth, Ben responded without competitive violence. He let himself push his fingers through the general’s hair, learning how soft it was this late at night when it was clean and dry and free of whatever he used to hold it in place. It was the type of kiss he shouldn’t have allowed himself, he thought as he pulled back. Kylo Ren would never keep them memory of a kiss like that behind his helmet. But Ben smiled in the moment Arrik pulled back, opening his eyes slowly.

It seemed impossible that a kiss between them lasted at all. Arrik sighed as he stood up again, looking down at Ben. His hand was still on Ben’s throat, and he stared at the man for a few more seconds before turning away, snatching up his shirt.

Ben’s smile followed him out the door. He raised his hand to mimic Arrik’s gentle hold on his throat, feeling his pulse under his thumb. He tightened his hand and laid back, still smiling and closing his eyes. He wondered what the general was thinking, but as tempted as he was to violate his trust and look, it was more important to leave him that privacy. And it was more fun to just wonder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [>mwah](http://tigernoir.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> t/w: star-wars type violence

Kylo Ren knelt silently in front of the holopad, chin down on his chest and his lightsaber set in front of him. There was a strange hum in the room that didn’t come from the ship or the holovid of the sentient before him. It was Ben communicating with every piece of tech in the room at once, holding everything in the same resonance as it vibrated too quickly, too faintly to really be seen. The walls groaned under the unnatural pressure, bolts beginning to loosen.

His hood shadowed the holo’s reflection off the new silver lines around the eyes of his helmet. Hux had silently approved of them this morning, though he wondered how Sa’marha would take his constant small changes to her original design. Seeing his grandfather’s helmet the way he did every morning when he woke up made him want to adjust his appearance to pay homage to the man who had torn his family apart. Every night before he went to bed, alone now though he felt Arrik thinking about him in his berth, he meditated in front of the ruined helmet. It shouldn’t have been so hard to hear him again, as he had when he was younger, should it? Here he was on the path his grandfather’s quiet voice had urged him, once, just that once.

His thoughts wandered slightly, as they always did when he meditated. Arrik in the meeting that morning, frowning at him that in his way was nearly bedroom eyes. Commenting on the helmet change in crisp words that reminded him of his bedsheets, ready to be mussed. The tone in the room changed pitch slightly, rising. He imagined Arrik’s hand on his lower back, the intense warmth of it, and a slight smile twitched at the corners of his mouth beneath his mask.

When his attention wavered again, the room seemed to lurch dangerously and he opened his eyes, trance broken. He looked up at Snoke looming above him, waiting for the reprimand.

Sitting on the massive hewn throne, Snoke remained silent, frowning down at his newest disciple. He didn’t blink, didn’t look away, and Kylo felt the force of the sentient’s entire focus on him.

“Should I...start over?” Kylo Ren asked, hands tightening into fists on his thighs.

After a minute, Snoke leaned forward again, “You have become distracted.” The temperature in the room became chilly, and it was no longer the trick Snoke used when Ben had first approached him; it was a sign of his displeasure.

“As you know, meditation has never been a strength of mine, Supreme Leader,” Kylo said, then quickly licked his dry lips. “And after the success of the mission on Aet’ye, I have many things to consider, for the First Order and for my Knights. Let me just try again. I’ll maintain it longer this time.”

“Tell me,” Snoke’s voice was soft, dangerous, “what you have considered so far? Meditation without application is a feeble pursuit.”

“Well…” Kylo let himself pause, mindful of the silences between his words. “I think that it’s time for all the Knights of Ren to act together. Nearly every mission is something requiring one of us, two at most.” He opened his hands and pressed them on his thighs, refocusing his attention. Knocking Arrik back against the bulkhead and holding his wrists by his side with the Force was probably not the application the Supreme Leader wanted either, but that had happened before the general had stiffly walked to the bridge to start his shift early in the rotation. “We should be seen as a unique force, not just secret weapons, singly applied.”

“And of the Order?” Snoke barely moved, and he didn’t turn away from Ben, almost glaring at him, as if trying to decide whether or not he was even worth speaking to. His tone was dismissive, tightly wound.

Kylo Ren kept his eyes on Snoke’s, not cowed by the intensity.

“I am eager to see Starkiller Base in person, Supreme Leader. I’ve spent many hours learning about its capabilities.” He’d been to exactly two meetings; they’d gotten as far as the name and general location before he and the general had engaged in a different sort of meeting of the minds.

Snoke’s eyes narrowed again.

“You have become scattered by your own impulses.” He said, gesturing again. “You need to be reminded of what I need from the man who would lead my Knights.”

Eyebrows drawn down, Kylo shook his head. He hadn’t failed yet, in training or on a mission. He’d proven himself in balancing the different aspects of leadership that had been expected of him, from making sure their training camp was supplied to increasing his Knights’ knowledge of their own abilities. This kind of scolding didn’t make sense.

“I don’t understand. I haven’t failed you yet; my Knights are the strongest they have ever been, thanks to your guidance and my strength.” His voice was fervent, hands in tight fists where they lay.

Snoke shook his head, and he narrowed his eyes at Ben. “You need focus, Kylo Ren. Remember that you are part of something bigger now, and should not be quickened by base distraction. Continue to train on your own until you receive your next mission.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing,” Kylo insisted. “I spend nearly my entire day training.”

“You have not learned everything yet, Kylo Ren.” The transmission cut out quickly, barely a flicker in between the end of Snoke’s sentence and his disappearance.

Kylo exhaled slowly as he leaned forward, pounding one fist on the ground in frustration. He could have done it, if he’d been given the time. He could have vibrated the room apart if he’d been given a second chance. Snatching up his lightsaber, he got to his feet and stormed out of the call room.

He spent the rest of the rotation training, as he’d been instructed to do. As he did anyway. It was incredibly annoying to him that the Supreme Leader didn’t think he’d been working hard enough. This area was reserved for his private use any time he wanted it. He spent hours desperately trying to meditate in front of his grandfather’s helmet. There were no distractions; his loyalty was absolute. What distractions could Snoke possibly mean?

The general knew that something was off when he hadn’t heard from Ren, nary a thought, image or ping, in approaching five hours. Their encounter a few nights ago hadn’t been repeated, although the two of them had come together in violent, biting, twisting ways. Their sleep cycles had been mismatched and Hux had finally returned to his rotation.

He found Ren on his pad and decided to visit with him over simply sending a message. He dismissed Mitaka and made his way to the training rooms, eyes on his pad almost the entire way there. He opened the doors and stepped inside the strange place that Ren had claimed for himself.

«You met with Snoke?» He asked, still flipping through missives and problems in his quadrants and on Starkiller.

Hearing the general’s voice in his head was no longer completely unexpected, so Kylo continued to work through the spins he was practicing with a training stick, lightsaber sitting with his helmet and cowl on the floor by the wall.

«I did. I’ll have another mission coming up soon. He told me to watch for it.» He slashed down with the stick, a movement with enough power behind it that, even blocked, would be devastating.

Hux hummed, watching him carefully, the anger that tinged his voice, the slope of his shoulders. He looked back down at his pad. «I haven’t been given notice. Is this an emergency?»

«I have…» Kylo’s mental voice paused when he jumped up, holding the practice stick carefully as he spun over it before landing in a crouch. «No idea. I have no information on it. You know as much as I do.»

«That’s never reassuring.» Hux put down the pad, watching Ren again, looking over the planes of his back and the muscles pulling his shoulders tight. He cleared his throat, “If you’re busy I’ll leave you. If you have need of my assistance I’m willing to offer it.”

Kylo Ren straightened up slowly, leaving the practice stick down by his side as he caught his breath. He wiped his wrist over his sweaty forehead before looking over at the general. “I’m not; you’re fine.” He bared his teeth in part of a smile. “What sort of assistance are you offering?”

“Information, mostly,” Hux muttered, putting his pad behind his back, holding himself straight. The knight was training with minimal clothing, and Hux wasn’t sure if it was utility or vanity at this point.

“As in you have some that I want?” Kylo asked as he walked over to grab a towel to wipe his face and chest. He kept the towel in his hand as he went over to add the practice stick to the rack of weapons he’d selected for his personal use. “Or just if I need some in future?” He caught the higher color in Hux’s face and imagined the flush that he knew would spread over the pale skin hidden by the general’s uniform. He stepped closer to the other man, brushing his fingers quickly over his shoulder. Marking the spot he wanted to set his teeth.

«Down, boy,» Hux sent over icily, teasing.

«I haven’t done anything yet.» He draped the towel over his shoulder and leaned down to grab his water bottle. “You haven’t answered my question.”

“I think we both know that I have quite a few somethings you want,” Hux responded quickly, eyebrows up.

“I was promised information. Am I offered more?” He took a long sip then held the bottle over to Hux.

The general shook his head. “Information, when asked for, will be freely given.” He looked over Kylo again. “Anything else and you’ll have to be more direct.”

Kylo grabbed Hux’s side easily and shoved him back against the wall, leaning in over him. The chill of the ship was caught in the general’s crisp uniform, and it felt colder against his overheated skin. He bent his head to press his mouth to the soft spot under Hux’s jaw, above his stiff collar.

«Direct enough?»

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but Hux was no less pleased by the turn. He put his hand on Ren’s side and growled lowly.

“I am still on rotation, Knight.”

“That makes this even better,” Kylo murmured against his neck. Despite his mild protestation, it was very obvious the general was making no move to pull away. “Look at you, here. The general shirking his responsibilities.”

Hux took a deep breath in, tilting his head up, letting Kylo push him around. This was fine, it was part of the game, he knew that at a single word Ben would be on his knees, Kylo would tear apart worlds, Ben would open his mouth for his fingers, his cock, whatever Hux wanted to give him.

«You are my responsibility,» Hux said, keeping his hand still on Kylo’s side.

His head was suddenly full of laughter as Kylo Ren bit him hard, bit him as though he wanted his teeth to meet in his flesh. Kylo felt Hux’s body stiffen under his, felt the sudden rush of his annoyance, pain, and desire, and it was amazing. He pulled back completely, stepping away from Hux with his hands out to the sides.

«Such a responsibility it is.»

«You’re insufferable.» Hux wanted Kylo Ren writhing on the floor, wanted to see him with three blasters trained on him, warding off each with just his hands, wanted to see the saber spinning dangerously. Stars, he just wanted to fuck him again.

“I only came down to check that you were still alive. Finding you adequately functioning is enough,” He was making excuses, remembering Kylo’s rough mouth on him, hands on his waist, “I’m wanted on the bridge.”

Adequately functioning. What the hell did that even mean? Kylo wondered to himself as he watched Hux’s eyes soften then sharpen again. He took a slow breath as it hit him. Distraction. As he was obviously the general’s, the general was his. Pulling a quick face, he wondered what the Supreme Leader had gleaned from him. He hadn’t opened his mind to him during the session; it had been actual training, bending the dark side of the Force to use its destructive power more subtly.

“You were worried I wasn’t alive? What sort of ship are you running here, general?” He took another step away from Hux, past him, to lean down and pick up his shirt though he hesitated before putting it on.

“I was using exaggeration to downplay my intentions,” Hux said, not missing anything from Kylo Ren, seeing his shoulders hunch, the way the knight turned from the general, his hesitation. More than that, he could feel some of the stronger, steadier emotions coming off the man, something like surprise and uncertainty. “Of course I didn’t think you had perished in the eight hours I hadn’t heard from you.”

His tone at least was dismissive and condescending, but there some something far less sharp about the actual intent. He reached out to Kylo with his thoughts, as much as he could, trying to send him images of the way his back sloped when he ducked his head to kiss Arrik’s neck, the way that his hair fell when he looked up at the general, Kylo on his knees, pushing up Arrik’s uniform to get his hands on the flesh underneath.

In a movement too fast to be entirely natural, Kylo Ren was in front of Arrik again, shoving him back against the wall hard enough to knock a breath from his lungs. The Knight almost hungrily stole the quick exhalation from him, mouth demanding against the general’s while his hand, still holding the shirt, gripped the man’s hip hard enough to hurt.

«What are you doing to me?» he growled into his head as he forced Arrik’s mouth open with his thumb pulling down on his chin.

Arrik couldn’t imagine any other man doing what Kylo had done, demanding what Kylo demanded. He couldn’t think of any other situation where this sort of touch would be tolerable, where he wouldn’t flinch every time Kylo brushed against him.

«Keeping you,» Hux sent back, staring at Ben, unblinking. His mouth was open, his pad had clattered to the floor. He let the Knight pull his mouth down, didn’t fight, didn’t tell Kylo otherwise.

Kylo Ren pulled back enough to look at him, at the way the man in front of him clung to threads of his dignity when their eyes met. There was something in him that wanted to break him, crush him, hear bones crack under his fists. Hux could fight back, but what good would that be against a power that could kill him without even touching him? He heard him breathing like it was against his ear. Of course he was a distraction. He’d been a distraction on the _Millennium Falcon_ , when his curiosity pulled him out of the pilot’s chair again and again to visit his prisoner. Hux himself had told him not to let him be a weakness, to not be Ben’s weakness. Was he Kylo Ren’s weakness as well?

He hooked his thumb over Arrik’s bottom teeth, dragging his head down so the general had to look up at him through his eyelashes.

«Keeping me.» His other hand dug into Hux’s hip, finding the edges of the bone.

Hux let himself be moved, not fighting Kylo’s insistent hands, feeling the power vibrating in between the spaces of his knuckles, the inhalations he took. «I will have all of you or I will have nothing,» Arrik let his eyes strain upwards to look up at the just barely taller man. Without shoes on, they were even closer in height. «I will not fight over what should be given.» It was what he deserved, what he had fought and bled and suffered for. Kylo Ren was singular, exceptional, and he wanted every part of him.

«You are not the only one making a claim.» With his thumb still against Arrik’s teeth, he pressed his index finger into his mouth, down against his tongue. The memory of Hux’s fingers in his mouth sprang to mind. With a quiet noise, he released him, wiping his finger on the side of his loose black trousers.

The general swallowed, shifting slightly to look in Kylo’s eyes. He put a hand on the man’s chest and pushed him backwards, tamping down the flare of anger that sprung up so easily. Snoke. The Supreme Leader must have found something disappointing about Kylo Ren, something that would cause him to put up defenses, unsure, unresolved. Arrik Hux knew and didn’t know, felt and didn’t feel anything, uninitiated and angry.

“I would have you,” he said, reaching down to pick up his pad. “Rampant, untamed...” Arrik shook his head, glancing back up at Kylo Ren. “I don’t like being tested.”

“Neither do I,” Kylo said, crumpling the shirt in his hand. “But we’re not masters of ourselves yet, are we?” Saying it without saying it. They weren’t quite in position yet to be the power they could both see for themselves. He’d never been one for self-control though, and now he was battling thoughts of Hux’s gloved hand in his hair, twisting the long thick braid of it like a leash.

Arrk’s jaw set as he imagined it too, saw him looking down at Kylo Ren, regarding his open mouth, seeing his naked body splayed out and willing. He made a noise in the back of his throat, annoyed, wanting, and frustrated. All of the things Kylo wanted, Arrik wanted.

The general stepped forward, put his hand on Ben’s stomach, fingers splayed against the curves of his musculature.

He didn’t say anything, but closed his eyes, frowning slightly, trying to communicate with Ben without speech, without even thinking the words. He sent over his frustration and his ache, but also desire, need, approval, that quiet validation Arrik tried to imply every time he shot at Ben with his rifle, every time he pulled his hair to get Ben’s teeth at a more pleasurable angle, whenever Arrik stayed silent while Kylo Ren, premiere of the Knights, spoke aloud at a larger, general meeting. It was all part of Arrik’s powerful, slightly grudging respect for the other man, and his longing to see him kneel in front of a throne different than the one upon which the Supreme Leader sat.

The thought of it - treason, submission, power, pain- quickened Kylo’s pulse again and he took a deep full breath, eyes on Arrik’s mouth. He felt that he could read so much there, in the tight pull at the corners. Who was he to urge patience, when every single thing in his life he’d done on a whim? Who was he, as he imagined again that jungle with creatures twisting through the brush and the general’s keen eyes trying to find him, hunter and hunted, to forget the mark that would be barely hidden by Arrik’s collar?

Where were they going? What were their chances of getting there alive?

Kylo Ren knew the throne and his place beside it. It was a strange thought and he indulged it for a moment. He was the power, and he would choose the wielder.

“You’re wanted on the bridge,” he heard himself say, voice low.

Arrik nodded, opening his eyes and taking a step back, away from Kylo. Now was not the time for arguments or gentleness, and he left the room silently.

«Everyone.» The door was closed by the time Arrik sent the thought to Ben, already headed towards the lift to stand for the last few hours of his rotation, «has their place.»

* * *

 

Two weeks later, Kylo Ren stood motionless on his shuttle, hearing the vague unease coming from the rows of stormtroopers behind him. The Elect were still and silent, prepared as always. Even more silent, with some actual safeguards against a man like him, Captain Phasma gleamed beside him in her chrome armor. Her cape had shifted slightly with the ride from the _Finalizer_ , and he itched to fix it. However, in moments like these, he was very aware of the figure he presented. A black monolith with his only weapon clipped to his belt, unmoving and unmoved, with his legs planted as though even a crash on the planet wouldn’t knock him down. There were several other transports bringing stormtroopers to the surface, though he hadn’t bothered himself with those numbers, just the way he hadn’t wasted his time with meetings about the kind of guns they’d be bringing. He was here to oversee and, with the Elect, to take out a force of elite fighters that had been the driving force behind Xashaas’ resistance to providing fossil fuels to the First Order.

The mission didn’t seem enough to really call for his help, Kylo had thought when the orders from the Supreme Leader had first come down to him. A few legions of stormtroopers should have been able to handle even the pocket of freedom fighters. He glanced over at Phasma as the pilot read off the coordinates and time of arrival.

If Phasma felt slighted by Ben Solo’s meteoric rise, she gave no indication of it. Her own accomplishments were enough to set her apart, she didn’t need to harbor petty grudges against another. She had her orders and was satisfied knowing that Kylo Ren did not take her experience or station lightly.

“All troops have reported in,” she said, looking over at Kylo, “the K-E legion and R-E legions are ahead, the remainder follow.”

Kylo Ren unfolded his arms as he turned toward Phasma, nodding once.

“You’ve made preparations for a base camp.” He didn’t need to ask; he knew she’d taken care of all the necessary tasks. “How long do you estimate until we are ready to engage the dissidents?”

“About an hour and a half. We’re sending a small compliment ahead.” The group she was referring to contained a few negotiations officers, specialty security forces and approval from General Hux to offer money before engaging. “We’ll follow less than two kliks behind, either as a sign of goodwill or an invading force. The march won’t be longer than five kliks.”

“I’ve looked over the map.” His letters were clipped by the vocoder. There were some sounds he still wasn’t used to, the strange pop at the end of ‘map.’ “There’s very little cover for the dissidents to use as a retreat, apart from the main complex.”

“They won’t risk compromising the main drills, it’s their only bargaining chip.”

“Preserve the drills, but if there is any sign of noncompliance, I want the living quarters destroyed.” These things were necessary, he told himself. A show of strength to encourage others not to make the same mistakes. Ultimately, it led to less loss of life.

“Of course,” Phasma agreed. There was no jostling for dominance, no false show of bravado. They were assigned to a mission, and they would complete it.

He paused, hearing the shuttle (his own, a sort of gift with its huge black wings, though he wasn’t sure if it had been gifted by the general or by his teacher) begin its initial descent.

“Is there anything else you feel I should know before this mission?” he asked. He did value her, valued her opinions and her experience.

She paused before responding, considering her words carefully, “When you’re forced to adapt, remember that you’re not the only one who needs to change. There are gunners and infantry and officers, and they’re all relying on you to make the final decisions. Communicate effectively so that every man with feet on the ground understands what you’re doing. You can explain yourself to the brass later.”

Kylo Ren allowed himself a small smile beneath the helmet; she didn’t consider him some kind of officer. She seemed to see him as a rogue warrior who had decided to help out her side, her specifically. Maybe that was the most realistic view of the arrangement. He found he didn’t mind it. He nodded to her, turning his faceplate toward her. It was her shining helmet that met his eyes.

“Thank you, captain,” he said lowly. “I ask for your communication as well.”

Phasma nodded once, reaching up to grab onto the one of the stabilizer handles as the Upsilon shuttle cut through the thick first atmosphere. They were the third shuttle to land, and the rest of them touched down behind their ship, falling into line behind them. Phasma glanced at Kylo and nodded, giving him permission (not that he needed permission from her, but perhaps it was encouragement) to lead them off the cruiser.

As Kylo Ren walked down the ramp, he pulled the hood of his cowl up over the top of his helmet. The heat of the planet hit him as he walked down into the rush of troopers unloading the transports. It was ugly land, dry brown with the leaves of the sickly shrubs coated in in a dull yellow dust that laid over everything, even the tops of the large rocks that were stacked in ways that looked like they’d been there for hundreds of years. The dust swirled up around them, disturbed by the landing vehicles. He heard the other transports coming in behind them, but didn’t turn his head to watch.

The landscape was rocky, mountainous, and the fuel buried deep beneath the surface had been crushed and then hardened and then crushed again, the shifting tectonics of most of the planet making landing one legion difficult, and made landing three nearly impossible.

Phasma followed Kylo Ren, and she did look back to watch her troopers disembark from the shuttles, running out in neat, precise rows. She observed them silently and then stepped forward, standing next to the Knight.

“We’ll wait on the report from the forward complement and then head out.”

Kylo nodded once to her, attention already drawn elsewhere. There was something wrong, but his senses all told him that his gut feeling was misfiring. There were no sounds around that they weren’t making. There was nothing to see that was out of his range of vision, though he considered there could be something over the ridge to the north.

The stormtroopers didn’t waste time, unloading canons and arranging their low impact land vehicles into their regiment. The Elect provided aid and leadership where needed, as did Phasma, even though most of the troopers needed no direction. They arranged themselves into small patrol groups, preparing for the move out towards the main compound. After everything was in order, absolutely on time, according to an exact schedule, Phasma tuned her comlink into Kylo’s helmet.

“We’re ready, Ren,” she said, no sound projecting through her vocoder.

Kylo Ren was silent for another moment, trying to figure out what was bothering him about the situation. Maybe it was just the unfamiliarity of the whole thing, acting as the head of a group of soldiers. Captain Phasma was actually the commander of the stormtroopers, but all orders came from him. He could override any that she gave. It was different than fighting with the other Knights, their moves synchronized and vicious, though independent and unpredictable to opponents. He rolled his shoulders, squeezing his hands into gloved fists.

“Tell them to move forward, captain.”

Phasma turned slightly, looking over the legionnaires. She raised her hand and then dropped it, pointing towards the pass.

“Move out!”

The troopers responded immediately, following Phasma as she walked, her cloak billowing behind her. She walked up to Kylo, and then stayed at his right as they marched. A pair of speeders zoomed past them, checking the area, reporting back to Phasma and Kylo Ren, small status reports. All clear, no traps, the negotiators have arrived, heading back.

Kylo Ren walked beside Phasma, all of his senses extended. The noise of the troopers moving forward was rhythmic and steady, and the heat was more intense the longer they walked. It was nothing he’d complain about; he’d trained in hotter--if wetter--conditions. At one point, a series of gusts of wind blew up around them, thick and dense. He didn’t know if they were expecting him to call a halt; he didn’t.

He was waiting for the negotiators’ report before he actually considered what would happen if they failed. Firepower, destruction. As the dust storm settled around them, the entire land seemed quiet and still. He frowned as they continued on, raising his eyes. The landscape rose ahead of them, rocky as it led them out of the lowland they’d landed in.

“Captain,” he said through his direct channel to Phasma’s helmet. “Any word from the negotiators?”

“The group has gotten to the compound; they’re currently engaged with the Xashai,” she reported. “We have open channels, but we might not hear back until a decision is made. We should keep moving.”

Kylo Ren nodded as they continued to walk. “How close to the compound are we now?”

“Three kliks, less than an hour, with all the equipment.”

There was no need to reply. He nodded sharply, turning his face back to their forward progress. A walk like this was tedious, but an hour wasn’t exactly a problem. The filters in his mask kept the air in his helmet clean. He bounced a quick thanks to Sa’marha.

Mar was meditating, and sent a feeling back, charity, thanks, acceptance, followed by a curious mark, where was he?

«On the ugliest, driest planet I’ve ever visited. About to take care of the ore problem from Xashaas.» It was easy to speak with her, even at this distance.

She was nearly asleep, tired, bone-weary, but centering herself. «Enjoy your command,» she responded, not wanting to distract him.

He could hear her exhaustion in the fuzzy edges of her mental voice. «Rest, Mar. I’ll tell you about it after the battle is won.»

«Only the victories,» Mar said, already floating down to onto her pallet.

«There are only victories. Sleep well, Mar.» He took a deep breath, feeling her sleep dragging at him for a few seconds.

Next to him, Phasma had no idea what had occurred. Her helmet moved as if her neck were a swivel, inspecting troops on either side, receiving reports from the squad leaders. She was keeping track of it all, noting everything that was happening under her command.

As the march continued, Kylo Ren decided to try speaking over the distance again. Mar was asleep, and by the sensations that he got from her, she was worn out enough to deserve a good rest.

But General Hux was likely on an off cycle, and if he wasn’t, how exciting was bridge duty anyway? It seemed to be mostly spent walking around to see what everyone else was doing.

«What are you doing?»

On the _Finalizer_ , the general was in a meeting planning out the future moves of the Star Destroyer. There were half a dozen more stops before they reached their ultimate destination and there were a dozen reasons to choose one run over the other, and the various stops were all being considered, carefully.

At least that’s what the officers assumed, in reality Hux had already made his decisions, and all of this was just a formality. As such, he was on his pad the entire time, dealing with other issues throughout his quadrants and Starkiller itself.

It came in as a buzz in the back of his head, something that was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He sat up a little straighter, frowning.

«Ben?»

He sent the thought out carefully, eyes on his pad, but still focused on Ben Solo, the figure he cut, his imposing stride through the halls. Was this him again or just his own imagination running away with him? It seemed impossible, slightly foolish, but Hux concentrated on Ben’s shoulders, the way that he said ‘my orders’, the sound of the new vocoder, the look on his face when he’d seen the fire-twisted helmet beneath the lid.

There was forbidden pleasure in being called his forbidden name as intimately as this was. It broke no directives when it wasn’t even said aloud. Hux’s mental voice was quiet but clearer. While he hadn’t found any actual historical information that helped make communication easier for the general (though at least they’d gotten better at learning the signs that marked the time just before the headache started), practice had made a difference for them. Hearing his name back also meant they’d successfully crossed this distance, and could hopefully build up to more.

«What are you doing?» he repeated, glancing down when he stepped unevenly on a shifting rock on the ground.

This time he heard it clearly, ringing like a bright bell through his mind, cutting through the fog and confusion of the dull meeting. This, Ben Solo, he was fascinating. Hux took a deep breath, shifting in his chair, gesturing towards another officer before replying.

«Overseeing a meeting. Aren’t you leading an invasion?»

«We’re just marching at the moment. It’s also not an invasion unless negotiations fall through. You know that.» His sardonic tone carried clearly through the channel he had to Hux. He felt his boredom resonate with the general’s, the tedium of the build up to important events. He kept his walls down entirely, but all his focus was on Hux’s mind.

Hux hummed, and somehow he’d managed to convey the exact expression with just a few well-placed emotions. «I always prepare for the worst.»

«You still haven’t told me what you’re doing.» He smirked behind the helmet, not even needing to school his expression. The image formed in his mind, Hux’s strong hand in its perfectly fitting black glove around his erection, lounging back on the comfortable sofa in his berth.

«Not having nearly that much fun.» Hux looked up, sending Ben images of the meeting room, the officer standing up. He sent Ben a quick view of his pad, with all the notes he had from the meeting scrawled along one side, Tower up, a small map of his quadrants highlighted and with problem points in glowing white dots.

«That’s almost physically painful. When I get back, we should make a different use of that room. Book it up for us, general. Three hours ought to be enough? Maybe?» He kicked a small rock ahead of himself, noting that his boots were covered in the thick yellow dust nearly to his knees.

The general sent back an image of Ben underneath the table, mouth on Hux, sucking him off as Corporal Rudian gave a continued report on the benefits of refuelling in the Malakrün system. He took a deep breath, very still in his chair, and imagined running his hand through Ben’s hair, holding him in place.

As always, the images were clearer than the words. This scenario came through to Kylo Ren as a thing almost too vivid to be a spur of the moment fantasy. Ben let Hux see his own imagined view, one hand tightly squeezing the general’s leg. Gods, meetings like that were really horrible, whether you were recording minutes or you were a general. That was sort of depressing, when he thought about it. He sent Arrik the sensation of a slight application of teeth (know when to use them, that was his motto), then smiled to himself. He was disappointed that he wasn’t in the room to see the other man’s face, to know whether or not he startled, eyes widening in front of everyone else in the room.

Hux’s fist curled in front of his mouth, and he took a long, slow, deep breath. He shifted in his seat and his thoughts were a string of curses. He fought hard to keep down the erection that had started to tent his pants, and stars above, he wanted Ben right now. The need was immediate, unrelenting, and he sent something along the lines of surrender back to Ben.

«When you’re back.»

«When I’m back, I’m going to show you what that table should be used for.» His imagination was vivid, and he shared it with Arrik. The slap of bare skin on the polished table, the glow of the built-in screens illuminating the outlines of hips and muscled thighs, the grunts of frustration from both throats. Those tendrils of invisible power around Arrik’s cock, caressing and pulling at him, his mouth on Arrik’s neck to leave those bruises he’d have to worry about hiding the next day.

Before he could let Arrik feel his smugness, something sharp struck the side of his helmet where his hood had fallen back. It broke his concentration and he jerked his head to the side, suddenly aware of the rush around him. The sound seemed to swell up from nothing as he re-engaged his regular senses, the sound of blaster fire and the dust that was being kicked up by stormtroopers moving into position to return fire and the attacks of the enemy.

Kylo Ren looked up toward the ridge ahead of them, where the low land rose to the higher plateau that was more level and flat. He could feel it, that was where the insurgents had taken up position, coming seemingly out of nowhere. He had his lightsaber in his hand and he ignited the blade to deflect several blaster bolts. The troopers on either side of him, with no defense but their armor, fell immediately.

He felt it then, and if he hadn’t already been engaged in the fight, he’d have been mortally embarrassed. Whoever led these rebels, they were Force sensitive. He had felt it earlier, and should have recognized it for what it is. Instead, like an idiot, he’d lowered all his own defenses so he could make it easier for Arrik to reach him. Roaring with frustration at himself, he spun the saber and deflected several bolts back to their origin, feeling rather than seeing them hit their targets. The Supreme Leader had sent him to deal with the Force sensitive leader, and he’d been too busy creating mental pornography. Distraction.

He didn’t rush forward with the rest of the troopers, instead choosing to let Phasma command them. Instead he scanned the ridge to try to identify his true mark. He tapped the side of the helmet to re-activate his comm link to the captain.

“If you want to establish gunners, I can create some defense to allow them to get into position,” he said quickly, blocking another volley of shots. He knew he stood out, totally garbed in black with his distinctive weapon flashing in front of him.

“Do it,” she responded quickly before turning back to her troops. The lines had assembled into a defensive formation and Phasma had directed that the ion cannoneers get in front, protected by flanks of riot-control infantrymen. The lightweight shields were enough to deflect most of the blasters, and behind the shields the canons recharged and then fired.

 

“Retreat to the ships!” Phasma called out, recognizing a futile effort when she saw one. She had her rifle out, defending one of the canons. “Formation Shen-Esk-Peth!”

The Elect had been spaced out throughout the infantrymen, aiding the legions and squad leaders. Between the two leaderships, the troopers quickly arranged themselves, starting to head back towards the ships, guarding the long range gunners. The speeders were nearly useless, but the larger tank-like machines were providing excellent cover for the infantry as they began to head back through the pass.

“Air support requested,” Phasma called out to Kylo, switching easily into their personal comm channel, “thirty minutes until the TIE squad arrives. We protect our men until then.”

Despite the weapons and high level of training, the upper ground was an advantage that the troopers couldn’t make up. Shots came over the shields, and the canonfire upwards resulted in dusty pops, ineffective and frustrating. It was impossible for Kylo Ren to provide enough support, even as he deflected shots away from himself and some of the stormtroopers. With a sweeping gesture, he managed to topple one of the machines above them, destroying its weaponry and crushing several of their enemy underneath its weight.

Loud, booming explosions echoed through the small valley. The Xashai insurgents had collapsed a natural bridge behind the troopers, effectively cutting off their retreat to the ships. The small compliment that had stayed behind would be useless.

“Defensive positions!” Phasma called out, knowing that they had been too trusting, that they expected minor resistance but not a planned insurgency, nothing on this scale. They didn’t have shield tech, they were equipped with small-scale tanks and riot gear. Kylo Ren knew that whatever scouts and negotiators they’d sent ahead were dead, and their weapons and information were in the hands of the Xashai. He closed his eyes for a moment in the middle of the battle, stepping back with his right foot to let a bolt pass by him as he felt through the area. There it was again. Someone Force sensitive, though not nearly as strong as he was. Someone who knew how to use their abilities only to the extent needed, a rudimentary and sloppy type of battle meditation, a way to move a smaller number of soldiers and vehicles to a better efficiency. The sentient had to die; Kylo Ren just needed to find them. He felt them now because something was happening. Something was being prepared. He tried to make his way up the steep incline, but found himself hampered by dead stormtroopers tumbling down in front of him where they’d tried to make some advances. The Elect were helping keep the troopers focused, but they continued to lose men, weapons and ground at an alarming rate.

The Xashai suddenly retreated away from the edge, leaving the troopers shooting at nothing for a few seconds before lowering their weapons. Phasma’s eyes widened behind her helmet, but before she could call out another order, the explosions happened again, this time above the entire squadron of troopers, sharp, rock-busting pops that echoed down into the valley.

“Take cover!”

Kylo Ren felt the ground giving way, the steep incline leading up to the cliff rumbling and roaring as explosion ripped it apart from within. Huge rocks shook free of the earth as the rockslide began, rippling horizontally down the valley. It would crush them all; there was no shield that could prevent this.

That’s when he felt the gloating above him, a smug, rough feeling that brushed against his mental walls like a wave of coarse sand. Like the dense, gritty dust that was covering him, that was clogging his helmet’s filters. He exhaled shakily, then slowly realized that it hurt to inhale again. Something hurt. His shoulder, his ribs, his arm. The pain was sharp but had no distinct origin; the shaking ground below him threw his senses.

He was not going to die while someone weaker than him laughed. He would freeze that laugh into a rictus mask of death before he went down. Clipping his lightsaber to his belt, he breathed in sharply again to create that pain, to draw on it and focus on it. He was furious with himself, with the fact that they were unprepared for some minor group of insurgents with time to kill. And that sandpaper sensation against him. He pressed his arm against his side, increasing the pain as he let the darkness draw itself up in him. This wasn’t skill or swordplay; this was raw fury wound through the Force like red pulsing veins.

Kylo Ren raised both hands as the rock slide built momentum, setting his heels as though he was physically holding the boulders back. He could hear his labored breathing roaring inside the helmet, the filters struggling against the heavy particles that were in the air. The muscles in his arms trembled with the effort, chin dropping for a moment. Then he pushed forward, palms out and fingers spread as the rocks defied physics and rushed back up the incline.

Phasma stood still, turning to watch the stones as they stopped in mid-air, not touching her troops, the dark figure of Kylo Ren stark against the white troopers, the power radiating from him rattling her bones. This was not the man she sparred with, this was not the boy Arrik Hux had brought onto the _Finalizer_ nearly a year ago.

It was a sea of boulders and rubble, rocks breaking apart against one another as they were driven up and through the ground. He pushed again, throwing his upper body forward with the movement, then bringing his hands back toward himself in a sweeping motion. The earth churned itself, dragging the heavy rocks back into itself and pushing new ones up through the surface as waves spread away from the battered legion. He couldn’t hear any of the insurgents’ screams above the earthquake roaring of the rocks, but he felt the deaths and let that satisfaction keep him going. He was waiting for one death, one particular silence. He exhaled shudderingly when he felt it, felt the way the laugh turned to fear turned to crushed nothingness as the spark in his mind went out. He spread his hands out in front of him and looked over what he’d done. The cliff was gone, pushed away into a mound of boulders that hid all the bodies. The dust was still thick as it hung in the air, but it was the quiet that was suddenly palpable. He swallowed back the sudden overwhelming urge to pull his helmet off, trying to reason with himself that it wouldn’t allow him a deep breath of fresh air. He swallowed roughly and spoke without turning his head.

“Captain, we will advance and destroy any survivors at the settlement. Let their leadership send new workers, and then let them offer an account of their involvement in this situation.” He took a slower breath as he fought to regain self-control. “If they are not forthcoming with information, I’m prepared to aid them in remembering details they may have forgotten.”

“Yes, sir,” Phasma turned to her troops, taking into account the number of dead troopers. Not a majority, not even a full squad, but a significant number nevertheless. “Squad Forn-Esk, branch three, arrange the bodies, mark them for pickup from air support. We move on the base, dismantle and disrupt.”

As she spoke, the squad named quickly began to arrange the fallen troopers along the sides of the road, their vitals already sending out a recovery signal for the large way-shuttle that would pick up the dead soldiers.

“There will be no survivors.” The order was short, clipped, and not met with any sort of enthusiastic response, but cold, harsh assent, yes sir’s and murmured compliance as the remaining troopers got into formation. Phasma looked over at Kylo and nodded.

“On your mark, Lord Ren.”

“Move out, captain.” It was Kylo Ren’s voice through the vocoder; he felt no dissociation hearing the words and knowing they were his own.

Phasma lifted her arm and then dropped it, and the troopers began to march. The tanks lined the four rows of infantry, the gunners scattered throughout, no longer as structured with a good number of them gone, and the Elect marched in between. Phasma already knew that she had lost two of her elite force, their deaths pinged directly into her helmet. She was not a vengeful soul, but she would give retribution happily, send companions to accompany her prized troopers into the sweeping darkness.

Kylo Ren watched the troopers move out, standing still. He didn’t look around to see how many had fallen. He was exhausted, but after a few minutes he started to walk as well. There was no hurry; Phasma’s orders would be carried out to the letter. By the time he arrived, the leaders would be brought before him. They’d give up information easily. When word got to them of what he’d done, he likely wouldn’t have to raise a hand.

Arrik Hux knew that something was wrong the second that he didn’t receive some other lewd image from the Knight. It infuriated him that this was how he knew danger was imminent, and he didn’t even take a second to excuse himself before making for the bridge and calling out for established communications with land based command.

Nothing.

The call for TIE support came fast, and Hux was pleased to see that his pilot squadron acted without hesitation, already suited up and leaving the bay within minutes of the call for aid. The General glared through the large triangular viewports of his ship, unable to do much bark commands at the staff and officers around him.

He received a short report from Phasma, relaying Kylo Ren’s commands, and he had nothing to add, but requested that the leaders be brought on board the _Finalizer_ before the interrogations commenced further. He didn’t know how far along the group was, but he began to get feeds from various pilots and squad leaders after the cleanup began.

It was several hours later that the first transport units with injured stormtroopers began returning to the Star Destroyer, along with most of the TIE fighters. The battle was over; the troops remaining would stay for several rotations, and a smaller garrison would likely be left on the planet. His presence was no longer needed planetside, so Kylo Ren had returned on the _Legacy_ with several of the leaders escorted by stormtroopers to the brig.

The Knight himself needed solitude after the battle. He would need to go in and finish the interrogations, but he saw no problem in letting the three of them sit and build up their fear. It would likely loosen their tongues. He made his way to one of the viewing decks and stood silently watching the stars, black clothes still coated in the thick dust from the planet. He hadn’t even wiped the helmet over his eyes, so space floated before him through a slight fuzz, which matched the strange sensation that was in his head. He felt slightly dizzy, and it had taken him much too long to get there.

Although it wasn’t exactly protocol, Hux wouldn’t allow himself to be anywhere else when the _Legacy_ landed lightly in the _Finalizer_ , the dark wings folding upwards as it turned to face the General. He had been reading reports of the battle, and hadn’t let himself feel anything but disgust.

He would never admit it, and nobody would ever suspect, but General Hux was furious. They had followed Snoke’s instructions, reviewed them, and then sent troopers and Kylo Ren to execute them. Despite that, none of the signs had indicated that this would have been a trap, that it would have become so absolutely fucked.

They had been set up. Somehow, somewhere, something had gone wrong or been said wrong and nobody caught it. Hux wasn’t one to suspect those in his own organization of deceit, but this smacked of it. He had reviewed the list of the dead troopers, and the Elect stood out, their silver highlight marking them as Phasma’s own. MM-0116 had been so marked.

The trip had been marred, the entire thing an insult. It should not have happened.

The _Legacy_ ’s ramp lowered, and Phasma exited first, accompanied by two rows of four troopers, who lined the gangway in a path that led directly to the General. Next came the Elect, escorting the captives, one on either side. Ems’ absence was not missed, and Hux refused to let his fury show as he took account of the trooper’s state as they descended.

Kylo Ren descended the ramp with more stormtroopers filing out behind him. He felt Arrik there immediately, the distinct sensation of the other man in the same room with him. It was Phasma’s responsibility to report to the general, not his; his part of the battle was outside the military hierarchy of the _Finalizer_. But he watched Hux’s face from behind the helmet, seeing and feeling the anger the man had pushed down to greet his troops. He saw it in the sharper creases in his gloves where they covered his fists by his sides. The actions of the Xashair protectorate had cost them many soldiers and a good deal of equipment. He knew the numbers Hux was seeing on the roster; he’d looked them over himself. This was a victory, but a victory that should have come more cheaply than it had.

The trooper captain went directly over to Hux, bending her head only slightly to report into his ear, although she didn’t say anything he hadn’t already read or heard. He nodded once, his bright eyes flicking over to Ren as he exited the shuttle. She turned then, standing next to him as the three leaders of the rebellion were lined up before Hux, each given space by the troopers but held in place by a strong, firm, armored hand at their shoulders.

He looked over them carefully, and the stillness of the hangar bay was eerie, calm, clinical. Hux’s eyes flicked to Ren’s helmet, and he pushed his anger deeper, keeping it in the place reserved for such impulses like retribution. Again he shifted, hands behind his back, looking over the three insurgents, two male, one female, still clothed in the various dusk-colored wraps and scarves meant to protect them from the elements of their home world.

«Make them kneel.» The order rang out clearly, Hux knew that he would be heard.

Without saying anything aloud, Kylo Ren extended his hand. He was standing to the side of the prisoners, not out of eyeshot, but not directly in line of vision. His palm only moved down slightly but it was like there was suddenly a huge weight on the shoulders of the three as their knees buckled and they went down to the floor of the hangar. The Knight walked over to stand by Hux’s side. He kept the pressure on them, making it more than just a power to keep them kneeling. He let them feel the full effect of the Force, the power that surrounded them and pressed in on them, knowing they’d feel it in their ears and in their lungs.

Hux tilted his head up slightly, looking down at the men and woman on the cold ground before him. He had half a mind to let Kylo Ren slaughter them where they breathed, imagined their heads rolling on the ground before they could even realize what had happened, the sharp, bright hum of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber would be the last thing they heard.

Instead he narrowed his eyes as he addressed them. “Your actions against the First Order have been noted. We were willing to consider peaceful negotiation, but we have found that our efforts were in vain, as our officers were killed while entering into discussions. For this offence, and others, the Xashair goverment will answer.” It was clinical, cold, sharp, and Hux’s voice didn’t disclose his seething contempt.

“You have threatened the peace of your planet, the safety of your system and compromised the First Order with your behavior, and your resistance has been crushed without mercy.” This time he was simply remarking on the scum his boots had picked up recently.

He nodded at Phasma, who gave the sharp order to her Elect. “Into the cells.”

Hux didn’t move, didn’t step aside as the troopers pulled the prisoners up roughly, walking with them out of the hangar. The captain nodded at Hux, who didn’t respond, and then left with the remainder of the troops that flanked the _Legacy_. The general swallowed as he looked over Kylo Ren, his hard lines, the tiredness and anger seeping from him. He seemed feral.

He felt it first, didn’t see the darker stains, but knew somehow that the pulsating ache radiating off the other man was a manifestation of the actual physical wound he had incurred.

“How bad is it?” he asked, not moving towards the Knight.

“None of the equipment was damaged. We had some concerns that they would have sabotaged the facility to prevent our use, but apparently they didn’t think we’d ever make it that far.” Kylo Ren still held his arm slightly away from his body as though he was ready to defend himself or punish someone again. “The population of the settlement was…” He paused. “There were no survivors, so you’ll need to put new workers in place as soon as possible so as not to slow up production.”

“The facility will begin new operations under our strict supervision within the week.” Hux said, still unmoving. He paused for a few seconds, thinking over his next few words. He knew that he was concerned for Kylo Ren, but he didn’t want to insist. “You did well.”

Kylo Ren closed his eyes for a moment to absorb the slim praise. The dizziness hadn’t passed, and had in fact grown worse since they’d gotten back to the _Finalizer_. He knew he’d exerted himself a great deal; leveling land masses was an enormous task, even for a strong Force user.

“I did what I had to do to ensure success,” he replied quietly.

“I will arrange a private recovery chamber.” Hux pushed, finally, his eyes on the growing pool of blood at Kylo Ren’s feet. “You need a bacta tank.”

Kylo Ren watched the angle of Hux’s eyes and swallowed. What was he looking at on the floor? His heightened senses caught it then, the drip, the drain. Mother of Kw’ath, was he bleeding on the kriffing floor? At the thought, he felt his injuries making themselves known, not even knowing where they’d come from. Blaster bolts, maybe shrapnel from explosions. He didn’t know. He didn’t want to look. He could deal with them later.

“A good night’s sleep will suffice, general.”

Hux took a deep breath through his nose, but didn’t give his dissatisfaction voice. He glared at Kylo Ren, the way he held himself, the way he ignored his obvious wounds. It seemed stupid, absolutely ridiculous, and he set his jaw.

“You are no good to me injured,” he finally said, turning away. “I will get you a private room.”

Taking a step to follow the general (though with every intention of going to his own berth), Kylo Ren was surprised when his knee wouldn’t support him and he went down ungracefully. He dragged a harsh breath in through his teeth and forced himself back up to standing, albeit with a sway.

“Damn you,” Hux muttered, going directly over to Kylo and putting his hand on his back, not wrapping his arm around him, just supporting him. He allowed Ren the dignity of his own failures, and sent a verbal command through his wrist comm, “Reserve a private room in the medbay for Lord Ren. Droids only.”

He pressed against Kylo’s back, pushing him forwards. “Move, now.”

“Why don’t you ever listen?” Kylo grumbled, voice stronger through the helmet than he felt it would have been otherwise. He didn’t want the general to see any weaknesses of him, and in this case, he didn’t even know what was wrong.

He was grateful that the Knights of Ren had made the sartorial choice to wear all black. That helped.

He walked forward, making sure each step was steady and even. The medbay seemed further away than he’d remembered.

“If I’m stubborn, you’re just as bull headed,” he muttered quietly, still pushing Ben forward with his whole hand.

“I think I know when I need sleep and when I need intervention,” Kylo said under his breath, still walking. He didn’t have much of an option.

Hux practically growled, annoyed and angry. He didn’t say anything, pushing Kylo towards one of the emergency medbays that they had near the hangars. Sure enough, the lead healer showed them to the private room with the bacta tank already set up. She didn’t ask questions, sending in the med droid and the closing the door behind her.

«Don’t fight me,» Hux said, pushing Kylo Ren towards the small cot that spanned one of the walls. «Clothes off.»

«Shouldn’t you be, oh, I don’t know, working?» He looked back to make sure the door was closed, then looked to Hux again. «This isn’t exactly one of your responsibilities.» He reached up to unlock his helmet, pulling it off with a relieved sound and tossing it onto the cot. Bacta tanks always seemed slightly creepy to him. Obviously he couldn’t tell the general, but he avoided them whenever possible.

“You are on my ship, you are my responsibility.” Hux stepped aside as a med droid came through, hovering nearby, the sedative already prepared. “Nobody else will see to you, you’ll ignore the droids, and I’ve no doubt that you’d rather bleed out than accept help.”

Kylo held his breath as he undid the clasps on the front of his tight jacket; it cut away at the waist and was longer in the back, though the battle had ripped away part of it. He pulled it off slowly, feeling exactly where his side had been caught with shrapnel and where the blaster bolt had grazed his arm. Dropping the coat onto the floor, he started on the undershirt.

«Gods, Ben,» Hux set his jaw, watching Kylo Ren undress, seeing the hurts first hand.

Kylo turned his head to watch Hux’s face. «Are you wondering what it would be like to feel me buck under you right now?» He winked and he was Ben again, tired and aching and unnerved by what he’d done earlier.

Hux couldn’t help it, it was practically involuntary. Ben lying on the small cot, gasping, hurting, writhing practically as Hux leaned over him, fucked him slow and hard, pressed his hand against Ben’s side. The blood would slide in between his fingers, he wondered how Ben’s cock would look as he jerked him off, pale and bloody, heavy in Hux’s hands.

“Don’t do that,” Hux snapped, annoyed that he was just as weak as Ben thought he was. “Get in the tank.” He gestured and the droid whirred closer, descending to the height of Ben’s unhurt arm, needle poised.

Ben was smirking, incredibly satisfied when the images came to him, dark and tempting.

“We could totally do that instead,” he said, inching away from the droid. «Don’t you wonder what my blood tastes like? Just a little bit?»

Hux had become very good at acting without warning. He took the few steps forward, to kiss Ben hard, tasting the dirt and sweat there, feeling the Knight’s own hurt deep in his own bones, the ache of his body, the tension in his muscles. The general put his fingers against Ben’s side, only lightly, and as he began to press down there, the droid quickly stuck Ren’s bicep, injecting him with the sedative.

Kylo made a surprised noise into Hux’s mouth and mind and jerked back away from him, sending the droid flying across the room with a quick gesture. It clattered into a wall of equipment, knocking everything down with it.

“That was a low move, general,” he scolded in a low growl. “I don’t even have my boots off.”

“You have five minutes to get into that tank or you bleed out,” Hux said, stepping back, looking over his gloved hand. It had enough of Ben’s blood on that it looked slick, and he rubbed his thumb and forefingers together, almost smiling. “I’ve seen you undress faster.”

“Actually I don’t think you have. You’re thinking of how fast...how quick I get your fly undone.” Ben could hear his speech slurring slightly, and wasn’t sure if that was blood loss or if the blood loss was letting the sedative take hold faster. Either way, he sat down heavily on the cot and started the arduous task of undoing the many buckles on his boots. He pressed his elbow against his side to give himself a little jolt of pain to wake him up.

Hux gestured again, and the droid sputtered to life, preparing the mask and calibrating the tank. Ben didn’t even have to get lifted into the tank, he just had to step into the machine along build into the corner of the modular wall and the tank would slide shut to allow the bacta to start flooding the small space. The general watched as the knight, dressed in just his basics, slumped against the inside of the tank, the droid double checking the mask and heart rate monitor before the door closed.

«You can fight me later,» Hux said, watching Ben. He didn’t know if the man saw him, but he focused hard on the Knight as he lifted his hand, opening his mouth and drawing one bloodied, gloved finger down his tongue. Bitter, dusty, metallic. He sent all these things back to Ben, almost without thinking.

Ben’s eyelids fluttered and his fingers spread, moving slightly through the thick gel. The reading for his heart rate spiked for a moment, then leveled again as the sedation really took hold.

«You’ll be sore,» he managed to send from the deepening twilight in his mind. Beyond that, he was silent.

Hux watched the readouts for a few more seconds, annoyed that Ben somehow, always managed to get the last word in. He sighed, found his pad, and made sure that he would recieve updates on Kylo Ren’s condition. Hux suspected that Ben would be in the tank for at least eighteen hours, and the sedative would be in him for at least twenty four, so it was a safe bet that he could at least try to get some sleep before he had to deal with Ren again.

He left the medbay, reiterated to the lead healer that Kylo Ren not be disturbed by any living person, and went up to his own rooms, knowing that there was something not entirely right about this scenario. Something had gone wrong on purpose, and he felt, almost knew, that Snoke had set Kylo Ren up for this, but not at the Knight’s expense. The retribution came at the price of Hux’s troopers, Phasma’s Elect, the cost of expensive equipment and no small amount pride.

It was a set up. There was misinformation and all their information had came from one source: Snoke. Kylo Ren was being punished, he was being shown that he was still under the heel of another, and the thought burned.

Hux was furious as he went to his offices, looking through all the evidence, the reports from the invasion, the interviews from the captured leaders. Their confession had been more than effusive, it seemed that Kylo Ren had a talent for hearing what he wanted.

The general technically had bigger things to worry about than one semi-failed mission on a rocky spit of land, especially since after everything the resistance had been crushed, the fuel production was back under First Order control and there were no significant losses. It rankled him, ate at his consciousness. He might want to punish some of his troops at times but he would never willingly send them into a situation where they were doomed from the start. There was no advantage, no tactic, no strategy that justified sending this compliment down to the Xashaas surface with inadequate resources.

They should have had air support from the start, but nothing on the readouts or reports indicated that the topic had even been discussed. The General had trusted Phasma and Kylo Ren with the troop decisions, and they were operating with faulty intelligence. If they had taken just a second to review the info in more depth...

Hux shook his head, focusing on the tasks at hand. This wasn’t their fault; they were following orders given to them by not just their direct supervisor, but their Supreme Leader.

He made a note to review all such directives more carefully in the future.

Gods, he had been stupid. He stood up, leaving his offices on the floor under the bridge and headed towards his own rooms. They had trusted blindly and look what had happened. The Elect culled, his own personal favorite killed, Kylo Ren a few hours from bleeding out on the _Finalizer_ itself. It was his fault, his negligence. He didn’t trust anyone, how could he have been so blind as to imagine that Snoke didn’t have an agenda outside of the First Order itself.

In his own quarters, Hux quickly changed into casual wear, and although he was already three hours off duty (he should be sleeping, but he popped some caf pills and ignored the fatigue that settled into his bones after more than twenty waking hours) he went to the officer’s gym and started the treadmill, focusing instead on the structured, absolute control he had over his own body.

It took nearly an hour before Hux admitted that he should rest. He watched Kylo Ren float in the bacta tank from his pad as he made his way back to his berth, but he didn’t do anything else. The wounds were healing, slowly, but the man would be whole again soon. Hux breathed easier only after he had fallen asleep, the tension in his shoulders barely relaxing, even as they prepared for the jump to hyperspace, even as the stars fell away all around him.

Hux usually didn’t dream, but something in the strange mix of aching rotations-long fatigue, the caf pills, the anger he refused to let go of, showed itself in his sleep.

It started simple, the general walking through a hallway on the _Finalizer_ , the only sound his steps. They echoed, and he felt on both hips, the familiar weight of the standard F-11 rifle held close to his leg. He wasn’t in his uniform, he was in tight fitting, infantry fatigues. Hardened shells of flexible armor over his shoulders, gauntlets, a knife strapped to his thigh, the dark hallway opened up to something that was hotter, more claustrophobic. A cave, maybe, and the general continued, going slower. The light at the end of the tunnel was framed by vines and leaves, dense growth that he didn’t immediately recognize as he pushed it away, stepping into the light.

Turning, he looked up, seeing the massive edge of the cliff rise up above him, giving him a few feet in between the rocky face and the start of the undergrowth, the trees and bushes that rose up fast and dense into a steamy rainforest jungle.

He wasn’t alone, though maybe he didn’t feel it yet. The unconscious time in a bacta tank didn’t generally lend itself to sleep, but Kylo Ren dreamed himself in a jungle deeper than the one he’d trained in, than the one that had given birth to the man who was now Kylo Ren. There were animals here, scenting him and hunting for him with more than just sight and sound and smell. But he was unafraid of the vornskr that prowled through the darker parts of the forest. He wanted the man who stayed toward the sunnier edges of the jungle. He could sense his confusion and the way he felt the oppressive heat.

«Come find me, hunter,» he sent through the leaves, knowing it would touch the man, it would touch the beasts. Kylo Ren jumped up into one of the tall trees to wait and watch.

He was aware, for a moment, that this had to be a dream, but everything seemed intensely real, even the drop of sweat rolling down his spine as he rolled his shoulders. The sun that filtered through the thick leaves pulled the remnants of heavy rain up into the air. Even breathing was thick and moist.

Hux felt the challenge in his chest, and he knew what kind of monster lurked in the trees. Dark, with dark eyes, dark hair, hard insistent hands.

He unholstered his weapon, holding it with both hands, and went into the dark jungle, sweat beading along his collar, along the cuffs of his long-sleeved tacgear. This was a hunt, the kind Hux had only really imagined. He had always shot from a distance, carefully and coldly calculating who lived, who died, which man would fall underneath him, gasping, mouth bloody, limbs limp.

His approach was slow and Kylo Ren was too impatient to keep his perch and wait. He ran along the tree tops, ducking and swerving without really needing to look, trusting the Force to be his real eyes. He caught sight of the hunter, his prey, when a ray of white hot sunlight caught on his copper hair and made it fire among the water-sated greenery around him. Kylo Ren laughed above him, igniting his lightsaber and cutting off a branch to fall right in front of the man before moving to another tree.

It was unique, singular, to know your prey so intimately, to jump back when the trap was set. Was it a trap? It was a taunt. Teasing. Hux chuckled, took a deep breath, and began to run through the undergrowth, not nearly matching the speed of his quarry, but knowing the better route, knowing where to go, how to turn mid-step and fire exact shots at the dark raven-thing in the trees, spinning around, ducking behind another large trunk for cover.

The thrill of being pursued when you were the pursuer was not lost on Kylo Ren. Some of the bolts came close to where he would be, the man below him anticipating and knowing his movements. He was tempted for a second to toss the blaster from the man’s hand, to leave him weaponless when he attacked him, but it was too early in the game, much too early. First he wanted to hear him breathing hard, deep in the jungle where nearly no light penetrated the canopy.

Hux turned, moving deeper into the jungle, grip tight on the rifle he held, knowing it could be ripped from him in a second. He had another on his other hip, but what good would that be. He was too sharp.

Kylo laughed again, the sound upsetting some birds roosting in the trees and sending them up toward the sky in a flurry of feathers and long claws. Another branch crashed down from above, this time propelled by more than simple gravity as it fell down onto Hux.

The general saw it (was he still a general? Had he become something less, something more?) and jumped back, then slid under a fallen trunk, ducking his head as the driven branch was blocked by the downed limb. He took a deep breath and stood, turned, shooting at Kylo Ren, his dark cloaks hidden in the canopy, but his presence known.

Kylo Ren stood in plain sight for a moment, giving the man below him his open target. He was breathing hard and smiling, enjoying the fight with no helmet to block him from the air. His hands were held loosely by his sides and he stretched them now, fingers outspread as though testing new claws.

«Land one shot, hunter,» he taunted. «Just one, and rather than just bloody your mouth, I’ll kiss it too.»

Hux had to duck behind another tree, he felt the press against his back, rough like bark, cold like metal. He felt no chill, but saw his breath mist in front of his face, and narrowed his eyes. He turned around and knew Kylo Ren would be there, immediately, rushed, impulsive, and Hux shot before he saw, felt his blasts as they left the muzzles of his guns.

Kylo Ren stepped back from the first shot, but somehow just barely caught the second bolt as it grazed past his ribcage. That was impossible, he cursed to himself as he grabbed onto the tree for a moment’s support. It was the thickness of the bacta...no, that wasn’t right. That made no sense, here in the jungle. He took a deep breath and stood upright again.

«Lucky shot.» He raised both hands and pushed with the Force, sending Hux flying backwards to collide with a tree. Without giving himself the pleasure of watching the man land, Kylo turned to press forward into the jungle, dropping down from the trees to feel the ground beneath his feet as he ran.

The impact drove the breath from Arrik’s lungs, and he scrambled to keep his footing. His hair fell over his face as he snarled, holstering a weapon, holding the other with both hands as he began to run after Kylo, the lightly colored underbrush freezing under his feet.

He darted through the trees, ducked under the lower-hanging branches and then stopped in a clearing, looking around, eyes narrowed to slits as he tried to find Ren. The man had disappeared, and against every instinct he had, Arrik shut his eyes, screamed inside his mind.

«You’re mine Kylo Ren!» He turned, lowering his gun, lowering his walls, letting everything in, the rush of cold air, the sweat dripping down his back, the bruises already spread across his shoulderblades. «You’re mine! Mine!»

Kylo stopped where he was, hearing the hunter’s voice over the sounds of the animals that were unseen through the leaves, over the sound of his own breathing. He smiled and closed his eyes, raising his face to sky he couldn’t see through the jungle canopy. His side ached and he loved it, loved the drag of it each time he inhaled, each time he turned.

«Until you have your hands on me, I’m not.» He took a deep breath and was surprised that the air was icy, seeming to frost his lungs and throat as he inhaled. «Come find me, hunter.»

He started running again, jumping over downed logs and slashing through tender branches with his lightsaber. The hum was a constant beside him as he turned, pushing himself to run up a small embankment to double back. As Hux continued forward, he would come up behind him and take his prey down that way.

All Hux had to do was follow the sounds of destruction, the tumbling branches, the cracked limbs, the bones, the broken trees as he ran through the dense jungle. The leaves turned brittle as he passed, the thick trunks shifted behind him, turning into light grey trees, long, thin, tighter together. Behind him it started to snow, the light turned from a dulled yellow to a bright grey.

He turned, faced the snow, and brought up his gun, firing into the sparse woodland.

Kylo Ren found himself running through snow, dodging bright red bolts that reflected against the white on the ground. His breath was visible as he stopped to deflect a blaster bolt with the plasma blade, sending it back to its origin.

Hux turned slightly, and the bolt went by his shoulder, barely grazing the side of his arm. He hissed, set his jaw, but did not fire again, holding still as he regarded the dark shape pressed so jagged against the white background.

The snow fell between them, lazily in the still air. Kylo Ren felt his injury; he felt Hux’s injury. He met the other man’s eyes and wanted to shove him down to the ground, to melt the snow around him while he bit hard enough into the softer flesh of his throat to make him bleed. There was dirt on the general’s face and his hair was down over his face, longer in front than it seemed when it was so carefully combed back.

He stepped back, swinging his lightsaber beside him. The snowflakes evaporated on contact with the blade, the glowing crimson consuming them immediately. He set his heels and the snow crept back away from his feet, revealing dark warm loam full of decaying and growing things. When he shook his heavy hair back from his face, the trees at his back thickened with dark leaves as though taking their light and heat from him.

«Will you come and claim me, hunter?» The muscles in his thighs were taut, ready to run forward, to attack, to leap, to crush Hux down to the earth.

Hux’s gaze was frigid, and his movements were tight, controlled. He lowered his weapon and took a step forward, never looking away from Kylo Ren. His arm ached, his side ached.

«You will not be claimed,» Hux said, stepping forward again. «You will be given.»

Kylo bared his teeth, lips pulling back into a snarl. He could only think of how cold Hux’s eyes were and how hot he knew he was inside. Snowflakes landed on his eyelashes and were gone as quickly as they were when they touched the lightsaber. He tensed, ready to--

The alarm on the bacta tank was the same alarm on Hux’s datapad when Kylo Ren was suddenly awake. The dream fell away from him, though he was still groggy and unclear of the line between reality and everything else in his head. He wasn’t really aware of the med droid helping him out of the tank, of being cleaned and dressed in a soft robe, of drifting off again on the long cot in the room. The jungle was gone.

Levels above Kylo Ren, Hux jerked himself awake, breathing hard, flush bright red and burning on his cheeks. There was an ache in between his shoulderblades, and he felt the sticky jungle still, heavy in his lungs.

He looked over at his pad, swiped the alarm silent, and brought up the feed of the room, watching Ren lie down, fall asleep again. Hux rubbed his hand over his mouth, taking a long, deep breath. Stars, now he was even dreaming about the man. Would he ever be rid of him? The thought lingered, and another question rang out.

Did he ever want to be?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we got a lot of comments last week (possibly?) because of [this amazing fanart](http://valveillen.tumblr.com/post/150693625793/this-was-inspired-by-a-lot-of-things-first-of)! so good. thank you so much to all the lovely people who left us notes, they're appreciated greatly. leave one yourself, or [come say hi on our tumblr, here](http://tigernoir.tumblr.com/). thanks again everyone, this update is a wild ride from start to finish
> 
> tw/nsfw

 

Kylo Ren avoided everyone for a full day after his return to the _Finalizer_. He didn’t want to know what the rituals were for fallen stormtroopers, how they mourned their own. He didn’t want to know what was done with the bodies of the Elect who’d died on the planet surface. He felt as though there was a slight dizziness that was hard to shake off; he blamed the sedation from his treatment, but was very aware that had nothing to do with it.

He had never done anything like he’d done to the rebels on Xashaas, grinding them into the earth and letting the rocks chew them up and bury their shattered bones and torn flesh. How many of them had there been? It had been a definite feat of strength, drawing on all his anger and frustration and pain from his injuries, but emotionally it had been easy. It had been easy to wish them all dead, and then make it so. It had been satisfying to hear the ragged end of the Xashair Force user’s panic.

So why did he feel shaky now that it was all over?

By the second rotation, he felt ready to emerge from his berth and resume his place on the ship. He stood on the bridge next to Hux, silent as the crew moved through their shift. He had finished the interrogation of the leaders; really, it needn’t have even been him by that point. They gave up all their information willingly. He didn’t care what happened to them now. Now he was a solid figure in tight black, helmet and cowled cloak creating him as more of a silhouette than a man where he stood by the viewscreen.

Beside him, Hux shifted slightly, just barely turning to look over the profile of the mask that had slowly become more complex and unnerving. He still hated it.

The general’s gaze wasn’t unnoticed by Kylo Ren; he could feel it as though it was something touching the side of his helmet.

«You feel tired,» Hux sent, pulling out his pad and going across the bridge to one of the stations, reviewing the newest coordinates.

«Are you asking or telling?» Kylo replied drily, not looking behind him when the general walked away.

«Telling.» Hux downloaded the stats to his pad and turned back, walking past Kylo, towards the lift that would bring him down to the level directly underneath the main bridge. «I’m headed to my offices. You should join me.»

«I can.» Kylo Ren wouldn’t admit it, but he wanted to be away from people, even just the crewmembers who kept to their own tasks and barely even looked at him. His presence was no longer unexpected on the bridge, or on the ship. He turned away from the viewscreen sharply, walking back down the long walkway toward Hux’s offices. Once he’d turned away, he felt the other eyes on him, furtive and careful as though they were afraid that something as simple as eye contact would get them punished.

Hux went into the lift and then stepped aside for Ren, letting him on as if he were just another officer, gesturing for the lift to move. It took less than a breath for the lift to open up on the next floor down, and Hux exited without looking at Kylo Ren again.

«Have you recovered from your injuries?» He asked as he scanned his code cylinder on the pad for his offices, the lights flickering on as he entered.

Kylo Ren kept pace with the general, not looking at him as he answered.

«Of course. Anyone stuffed into a bacta tank recovers. Especially those with minor injuries who didn’t really need it in the first place.» He glanced around the office without turning his head.

«You ruined my uniform,» Hux said, going over to his desk and sitting down, tucking his datapad into a small slot that would read and project its contents onto a few screens. He took a deep breath and sat down, gesturing to one of the chairs nearby. “Sit where you’d like.”

The Knight refused to sit on the other side of Hux’s desk like an underling about to be scolded. Instead, he sat in one of the chairs to the side, meaning the general would have to turn his own chair to look directly at him. There was a tiredness to Hux as well, something that came from reading over lists of the dead and filing official termination reports, one after the other. Scratching out numbers in the ranks and internalizing it all. There was no family to tell.

“Your uniform was fine. What was wrong with it?” There was no humor in the voice that came through the vocoder. Everything came out nearly the same.

“It was covered in blood.” When he said ‘in blood’ he meant ‘in your blood’, the implication rang out clearly. He glanced over at Ren, eyebrows up. “I think you underestimated your injuries.” Hux felt them again, the pain in his side, the burn across his arm.

“Well, you should know better than to touch bleeding men,” Kylo said easily while his mind supplied the sound of the steady drip of his blood onto the spreading pool on the floor. “A little bit of vinegar will get that right out.” He wouldn’t respond to Hux’s comment about his injuries. He habitually underestimated them. That’s why he’d spent two years as a child with no front teeth after diving face first off a table in one of the Senate rooms.

Hux chuckled, then blinked, looking surprised at himself. His expression went back to neutral fast, and he glanced over at Kylo Ren. He swallowed, frowned and then went back to his reports. The moment had been too intimate to comment on. It was soft, honest, and Hux pushed it down with only a second of hesitation.

Behind the helmet, Ben Solo grinned to himself. How many times had he actually gotten a laugh out of Hux? He could count them on one hand with fingers left over. He watched Hux silently for a minute. He knew the things he should be saying, things he’d learned to say. He should give him condolences on MM-0116’s loss. He should ask to look over the reports from the battle. But ultimately, he couldn’t say any of it.

“Has the ore production resumed?” he asked finally.

“It will, shortly.” Hux said, responding quickly. “New workers will be at the Namakesh Union Mine within two days. The Xashair government assured us that no such insidious uprisings would occur again.”

“We’ll be leaving a garrison for a short time, I imagine.” Kylo Ren sat back slightly, looking down briefly at his gloved hands on his thighs. He was waiting for a call from the Supreme Leader, and since his datapad was in his room (he didn’t carry any comm tech on his person), he imagined it would come through the general’s contact when Snoke decided to speak to him.

“Eighteen months,” Hux agreed, glancing up at Kylo again, feeling his uncertainty. He set his jaw, pushing down the anger he felt.

«He set you up.»

Should treason be spoken? If it was said out loud did that make it real? If it was silent, private, was it less treasonous?

Kylo Ren swallowed, his expression a mystery behind the dark faceplate of his helmet. The sincerity in Hux’s voice was undeniable. It was not some idle supposition; the general always spoke from a place of numbers and facts. He was the man with reports spread to every available screen, all of them scrolling figures which he read like they were his native language.

«What do I do with that?» He watched his hands tighten into fists, the creases in the gloves deepening. «I’m due to speak with him any minute.»

«Then you speak with him knowing the truth,» Hux said fiercely, feeling the resentment and frustration from Kylo.

«We were victorious. It is what he wanted. Or do you think he wanted you to report on my corpse?» Kylo Ren raised his eyes then, though the angle of his mask would look the same to Hux. The room was quiet around them; the ship hummed and breathed for them.

“I don’t know what he wanted.” Hux snapped, turning to glare at the dark Knight looming in his chair. “Regardless, he sent you into an active situation underprepared, with bad intelligence, no air support, and restricted you by creating a slow response time. No shuttles, no TIEs, nothing. I had them standing by, _I_ overprepared, _I_ sent the extra tanks, I asked that the Elect go with you.” Hux sneered, his eyes glacial, narrowed at the Knight.

“If it weren’t for me, the losses would have been twice as bad, your injuries would have most likely been worse, and I doubt that any of our equipment would have been salvageable.” Hux set his jaw and shook his head, looking back at the reports. “Obviously, you don’t care about what he wants, because you seem to already know all the answers,” he muttered, bringing up a screen showing the continued expansion plan in the northern part of the Outer Rim.

Kylo wasn’t exactly sure who Hux was ranting at. Much of it didn’t seem to actually be directed at him. It wasn’t his fault that he was only one man. He’d nearly died there along with the stormtroopers. He’d been injured. He’d stopped the rockslide. Inside the darkness of the helmet, Kylo Ren frowned.

“Your preparations were an advantage, general,” he said aloud. “Though I think we should reserve some of the praise for the troopers on the ground. They fought well, as I would expect them to. The Elect fought bravely.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Hux said quickly, looking up at him. “They’re dead, and it’s because of orders we received. Orders that were based on faulty intelligence. Orders that I approved and passed on, and because I gave those orders, my men are dead, my equipment was lost, and this unremarkable planet has caused me more stress than the stars-damned ore is worth.”

Kylo Ren thought of it again, his blood dripping to the floor steadily. A metronome of life. He knew the orders had come directly from the Supreme Leader. Down to the coordinates of their landing, five kliks away from the mine, the only path forward surrounded on both sides by cliffs.

«We are alive, Arrik,» he said, stretching out his fingers on his legs. «You know what I promised you.» He remembered, or thought he remembered, his blood on Hux’s glove, his blood on Hux’s tongue.

«Remind me,» Hux said, his tone softer, not quite as self loathing. His face was still tight, jaw set as he reviewed the stats on his screen.

«A galaxy of shattered stars. A throne I’ll rip up from the ground for you.» His most secret thoughts, deeply hidden near memories of his mother and the voice that bade him protect and create. «When has there been an emperor like you?» His thoughts were whispers, but impossible to ignore.

Hux jaw was tight, his eyebrows drawn down together. He glanced over at Kylo, confused, angry, unsure.

«Why.»

«Because it’s a disordered place, this galaxy. You’re the most ordered thing in it.» Before he meant the words to go, they had flown past his lowered walls. «Because you listened. Because you were excited, because you never stopped me.»

Hux nodded once, but didn’t say or send anything, frowning. He didn’t make any more to adjust the information on his screen, trying to process this, all the implications, what Ben meant, honestly.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, voice quiet.

“Keep up with me.” Kylo Ren looked over when a notification flashed on one of the screens. That would be the call he’d been waiting for. “Keep me alive.”

Hux looked over the flashing notification, given the highest and immediate priority.

“He wants to see you alone.” Hux looked over at Ben, frowning. “Find me afterwards.”

It was easy to deny the strange little anxious extra beat of his heart as he stood up. Kylo Ren nodded to Hux, reading the lines of his expression. There it was again, that dripping sound and a light breeze that was too icy to have come from the air ventilation above them.

“I will.” He walked to the door then turned back. “The leaders of the opposition. What was done with them?”

“They will be killed.” Hux said shortly, turning back to his screens. “With the information you acquired they’ve given us more than enough cause to eliminate them.”

The Knight nodded, hand on the doorframe. “Ems took out an entire gunner team on the ridge before they stopped her.” He nodded and it was half a bow. “I’ll find you, general.” He walked out of the office, letting the door close behind him.

Hux’s hands closed into fists as Kylo Ren left. His shoulders hunching as if he had been flayed. He hadn’t let himself think too much about her passing. She was a trooper, that’s all Hux let her be.

Kylo Ren’s steps were steady and unmistakeable as he stalked down the hallways toward the hall he used to speak with the Supreme Leader. His discussion with Hux had had a disquieting effect on him. The battle on the planet had seemed strange; it was very unlike either Hux or Phasma to fall for a trap like that. He himself hadn’t bothered with maps and such, trusting it to the military powers of the First Order to sort through those things. In turn, they had trusted their own authorities, information from admirals and orders from the Supreme Leader himself.

And Hux believed they’d been set up for failure with every fiber of his being. Kylo had touched his mind and it rang with truth like a struck crystal bell.

After tapping in his access code, he stood in front of the holo pad and waited for the tone of the call going through.

There was very little warning before Snoke appeared in front of Ben, imposing, cruel, impossibly large. Kylo Ren dropped to one knee with perfectly controlled speed and grace.

“Supreme Leader. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“I hope you have some news for me, Kylo Ren,” his words were low and gravelly, intent. “What happened on Xashaas?”

“We were ambushed by a well-organized group of rebels,” Kylo replied readily, remaining down on one knee. He looked up at the huge holo as he spoke. “Due to the untenability of the geography at our landing location, casualties were heavier than expected. The leadership of the work settlement was in league with three different cells of rebels and served as the conduit for communication and organization for the three to come together. Negotiations never even took place.”

“How unfortunate,” Snoke said, voice satisfied and not sounding remorseful at all, “they were previously willing to enter mediation.”

Within the helmet, the Knight’s mouth pressed until his lips were very thin. After a moment, he felt he could answer.

“Obviously a ruse to draw us in.” He concentrated a moment; he wanted his voice to be completely steady, devoid of the emotion that was bubbling up. “In the end, we were successful. I’m sure you’ve received thorough reports from General Hux.” I buried them in the planet surface, he wanted to scream. You set me down to fail and I ground up my enemies into pieces that you’d have to dig a year to find.

“If only I had been closer,” Snoke was so sure of himself, watching Kylo’s helmet. “I might have been able to sense their intentions.”

“If I’d been sent with the negotiators, perhaps I’d have been able to head it off.” He took a deep breath. “Did you know there was a Force sensitive involved? The sentient at the heart of their rebellion was a Force user.”

“I didn’t speak with them directly,” Snoke dismissed Ben’s question with a short gesture, “I became aware of the problem when the overseers at the mine requested help.”

“We never spoke with them.” Kylo Ren tempered his frustration, wanting to appear calm. “It would have likely been helpful for those of us on the ship to have had direct communication, don’t you think, Supreme Leader? Perhaps for next time.”

The sentient’s face, already marred, turned stony and unforgiving. The room became instantly chilly, not like the cold of the ship, or a planet, but the vacuum of space. Kylo hunched his shoulders against the dropping temperature, bones immediately aching with it.

“Do not presume such knowledge, Kylo Ren,” the words were hissed, rattling through the strange flesh of his face and throat. “You are still young, still inexperienced. I understand-” The vacuum turned dark, all-encompassing, thrumming with a deep vital power. The life-force of the universe, the anger and emotion, the bright, shining attachments Kylo Ren held, the planets that turned slowly, the ship underneath them burning fuel, it all came alive in the room, and each thing tore at Kylo Ren as if every idea were a black hole, determined to take in all of the man.

“I understand,” the echo came, it rang, it repeated and every Force-thing, every dark hatred spoke in chorus, “I understand what you do not.”

It was power he’d only glimpsed, Kylo Ren knew as he was pushed forward to brace one hand against the floor. He strengthened the walls in his mind, determined not to give this much away so easily. It was phantom power, a show of power, he told himself as he took a breath through his teeth. He remembered how real the snow had been, how the heat of his eyelashes had matched the power of his blade. Taking another deep breath, he used the way the ice stabbed at his lungs, using the pain to make his own power burn as he pushed back against the things Snoke was calling down on him.

He felt the galaxy too; his uncle had taught him to open his mind and feel the life in everything, the way the Force ebbed in places without as many living things, the way it throbbed like a heart in places where life flourished, good or evil. He knelt up again, holding both hands out to focus himself and push. Around him, there was a growing warmth, a puddle of soft light around him. It was the wrong thing to draw on, but it was the only way he knew to fight back against an attack like this. It was the sensation of protecting the stormtroopers dying in the valley, it was pushing Arrik down onto the garbage heap on Tyrakos, it was desperately waiting for morning to fade the nightmares away.

And it was wrong. Totally wrong. He felt its instability even as the power continued to swell around him. He was drawing on the light, then fueling it with anger; he felt the same pressure as his kyber crystal had when it shattered.

Snoke felt it and his entire core fought it down. Where there is life there is death. Everything dies. Insects die, beasts die, forests, oceans, stars, planets, solar systems, history, it dies. There was emptiness that the Force did not touch, the anger that the force was drawn to, the fury and rage and silence that was like air to the Dark Side.

There was just so much more of it, if you looked, if you had the courage to feel if you had the soul for it. Snoke gestured and the floor fell away, as if the _Finalizer_ was nothing (to him maybe it was, all of it was nothing as long as he had his own Order, as long as he felt it all), as if Kylo Ren had been pulled forward into the dark expanse of space, the light from each star around them extinguishing into nothing.

But Ben fought it instinctively, wanting to tear off the helmet and push back against the terror that was nothingness, that was a void of blackness and colors that went deeper. He tried to make a noise, but his throat had tightened. This was not something to be controlled. This was not something to be understood. He pulled in on himself, on the center of himself that he knew.

_My name is Ben Organa Solo. My parents are Captain Han Solo and Senator Leia Organa. I was twenty-seven on my last name day. My ship is the_ Millennium Falcon _. My uncle is Luke Skywalker and he is a Jedi, as his father was a Jedi before him. I am...I am._

There was something of the darkness that reached through, that touched him with what felt like one long cold finger. It burned where it touched.

_My name is Kylo Ren. I am the master of the Knights of Ren. My parents are weak, and my uncle is weak, as is the order he tries to resurrect. My grandfather was Anakin Skywalker, and his strength was drawn from the dark side as Darth Vader. I am._

He couldn’t stop his mental walls from weakening, crumbling at the edges. His mind struggled, while his body knelt on the floor in the holo room as he had the first time Snoke had broken through his defenses. He knelt with his head leaned back and his arms out, as though presenting himself as a target.

Snoke leaned forwards, and he felt Ben Solo crumble again, and he smiled, every edge around Ben becoming jagged and cruel and insistent, hurting, painful, cold. He tore apart at the heart of Ben Solo, the heat of him, the lightness there.

“I have what you want,” Again it echoed it responded, the darkness spoke back. “I will give it to you.”

«You can’t teach me if I’m dead,» Ben answered, knowing he wouldn’t be able to speak aloud. He couldn’t get enough air; he was suffocating in his helmet.

“You will survive.” Stronger, the word came through even though it was not in Snoke’s voice. You will be stronger, you will be strong. Snoke spread his fingers and the _Finalizer_ came back, the floor slid back under Ben’s knees and shins and feet.

He could feel his body again, he could feel the ship around him. Ben reached up with hands he finally knew he had again and fumbled with the lock on the side of his helmet, pulling it off his head quickly and dropping it to the floor. He took a deep gasping breath, staring straight ahead rather than lifting his eyes to the face of his master above him.

“Think on this,” Snoke said, voice low, ”What there is, what there isn’t. You know what to look for--” Snoke had shown him, gave him a glimpse, led him to the edge. “Find it, the power in the void and the anger you hold. The hollow and the hallowed.”

Ben looked up at him, still panting and trying to catch his breath.

“But you knew.” He told himself to stop arguing, to stop pushing, but went on anyway. “You knew what would be waiting for us on Xashaas.” He heard it again, the sound of the earth being reformed under his power, churning itself and crushing skulls as it rolled like waves. “If I wasn’t as strong as I am, we’d have lost the planet. Why didn’t you give me that information? You withheld that from me.”

“I knew,” Snoke spat out, extending his hand, and again every existing thing fell away, the crushing emptiness fell against Kylo Ren’s back, on his shoulders, pressing into his chest. “You ought to be grateful! You should not be so demanding.” Snoke’s anger was immense, incalculable. He would not take such questions, he would not take such doubts.

Ben’s mouth opened wide as he fought to inhale, waiting to hear the snapping sound of his breaking ribs. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t bring up any power of his own to fight back. He’d challenged Snoke before, and had been punished before, but this was unbearable. It was power that sought to destroy him completely, to crush him out of existence completely. It was power that showed how weak he was before the Supreme Leader. His hands grabbed at the empty air, trying to find something to hold onto, something to anchor himself.

Kylo Ren was at the mercy of his master, and it was only his acceptance of that fact that would set him free. He was light-headed and his heart punched hard in his chest, working harder as he ran out of oxygen. There were stars at the edges of his vision and they were the only light in the galaxy as he felt consciousness slipping.

«Help me.»

Somehow Arrik felt it, and he shivered, feeling cold even under his greatcoat. He was almost due for the end of his rotation, but he left his office, walking to the holochamber.

Snoke finally lifted his hand, shifting back on his throne, looking down at the man writing on the ground. He took a deep breath and sighed, disappointed.

“Learn well from this.” He said, the room fading around the edges, blurring. “You know, and you will know what you need.” Snoke had showed him again the power, the depth of the dark side, and it was up to Kylo Ren to give himself up, to explore the vast lungs that held the breadth and dark of the universe.

Kylo Ren pitched forward onto his hands and knees, taking gulps of the room’s cold, stale air. The Supreme Leader’s voice seemed incredibly high above him, fading in and out over the pulse beating against his eardrums. That was the true power, the darkness that was the end and the beginning of all things. Why was it so difficult to give in? Over and over he’d been warned how easy it was to fall to the dark side, but he was always just standing at the precipice when something pulled him back. It shouldn’t have been so hard to let go.

He remained where he was, with his head down before Snoke. His heavy braid hung over his shoulder and he concentrated on the gentle sway of it by his face, the rhythmic movement of something real. After another minute, his breathing returned to normal and he raised his head, bloodshot eyes blinking against even the dim light in the room.

“I won’t forget, Supreme Leader.” He swallowed and pressed his mouth. “It’s a lesson I’ll remember.”

“I will see to it,” Snoke hummed, and the transmission ended suddenly, the vacuum sucked away by whatever power Snoke possessed, his presence itself seemed to create the darkness that swallowed up worlds.

Kylo Ren knelt up slowly, still out of breath. He rubbed one hand on his forehead, aware suddenly of the sensation of something wet on his lip. Flicking his tongue over his top lip experimentally, he tasted blood.

“Seven hells,” he muttered to himself, wiping his gloved hand angrily over his face and smearing the blood that had come from his nose over his cheek. He angrily grabbed for his helmet, then slowly got to his feet. Every muscle screamed at him, nerves raw and vulnerable. That wasn’t how he’d expected that to go. He hadn’t meant to expose any weakness to Snoke, and it was the same weakness every time. He had to be more of himself, more of this. Since his return to the _Finalizer_ , he’d remembered what it was like to be Ben Solo, to laugh and tease. That wasn’t an option anymore.

He stumbled slightly on his way to the door, pausing and leaning against the wall to put his helmet back on before walking out into the hallway. Whatever weakness had existed in the holochamber, it had to be snuffed out when Kylo Ren walked out into the ship.

General Hux was the last person he’d expected to see standing across from the door, sharp and intense as a laser beam in his perfect uniform with the overhead light creating hollows under his cheekbones. The shadows blended into the corners of the man’s mouth, which were pinched as he looked back at him.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked, grateful that the helmet’s vocoder masked the exhaustion in his voice.

“I heard you,” Hux said, looking over Kylo Ren, eyes narrowed. «You asked for help.»

He hadn’t realized he’d reached out that way. Things like that would have to end.

«It was accidental. I hope you’re not abandoning your bridge crew to see what trouble I’d gotten myself into.» Kylo still didn’t move away from the doorway.

Hux set his jaw, glaring at Kylo. He took a step back, angry, annoyed, a little frustrated that Kylo would find his efforts so objectionable. Stars, Hux had even allowed himself to feel concern for the man. Obviously this had been just another game.

“As you were,” Hux said tightly, turning away from Kylo, determined not to allow himself to a presence when he was not welcome. He didn’t justify his actions, didn’t whine or insist. If Kylo Ren wanted to be flippant when Hux had assumed sincerity, that was his prerogative.

“Arrik.” Kylo Ren paused, shaking his head once. He hadn’t meant to say his name aloud, ever, when someone else could hear. Now he had to let him leave, or he had to walk away. He messed up every single time, and this was no exception. He raised his chin slightly, the lights sliding over the silver detailing on his helmet.

Hux looked back at Kylo Ren, and his demeanor changed slightly, shifted into something more like the General Hux they ran in holovids, the one in complete and absolute command.

“I believe I warned you about being so familiar,” he said quietly, eyes narrowed. Whatever slight intimacies they had shared did not absolve Hux of his rank, and it did not allow for such boldness in public. If the officer had been more sensitive, more aware of the sort of turmoil Kylo felt, he might not have been so harsh. “See that it does not happen again, Lord Ren.”

He turned on his heel, and did not look back. So much for indulgence. Hux had responded when Kylo had called and in return he was brushed off and then insulted. He held his anger in the set of his shoulders, in the cold fury that he left in his footsteps.

Kylo Ren stepped back into the room he’d never really left, lightsaber in his grip before he’d registered touching it. He’d promised the man star systems. He’d promised dominion beyond the general’s most secret dreams. He’d offered himself in ways he’d never considered giving himself to another living being. And for a name, for the name a woman had given another’s son before his face had grown into his father’s, Hux had turned and walked away from him.

There was no finesse in his movements as he destroyed the room. The lightsaber cut through the screens and wall panels easily and left long, dark scars on the floor. Between attacks, he had to pause to catch his breath, to fight against the long stitch in his chest that made it hard to breathe in. Then he spun into it again, hacking at the comm unit until it was a mess of melted and melting plasteel with blackened edges.

There were alarms blinking along the ceiling and on the panel by the door when he fell to one knee, turning the lightsaber off before dropping it onto the floor with a dull sound. He fought to get his helmet off, holding it curled against his body with one arm while the other caught him when he leaned forward. The muscles in his torso contracted as he retched, shoulders heaving. There was nothing in his stomach; he vomited dark blood onto the floor. He watched it spread with dazed eyes as he sat back, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist.

When he left the room, he was a towering figure all in black, face hidden as he moved down the hallway. All his weakness, he left in the ruin of the holochamber. Let someone else clean it up.

Later in the rotation, the general was called down to the chamber to view the destruction. Already two teams of tech crews and part of a janitorial department were in the room, putting back the holopad, the lights, rewiring the systems. It was all a gigantic waste of time, but Hux had been asked to come down because the entire thing had been so defaced.

The staff of the _Finalizer_ had gotten to work without delay, but the feed of Kylo Ren entering the chamber and then exiting in a dark cloud had left little doubt of the culprit.

While there was no footage of what had occurred inside of the holoroom, Hux knew why he had been called down here. Nobody else had the authority to manage a Knight of Ren. Even his own position afforded him minimal command over the Knight.

This would be all over. Kylo Ren threw a kriffing temper tantrum in the holovid room with his ancient energy sword. Hux was suddenly reminded of the incident a few weeks ago with a malfunctioning sim pod, and it didn’t take more than a second for him to realize that Kylo Ren and his stars-hurt lightsaber had done dirty work there as well.

Unacceptable.

He ran his hand over his eyes, and then pressed a pair of fingers against his temple. Finesse.

The general left the room to the tech and janitorial staff and went to his rooms. It was far past rotation, and he would be lucky to get five hours of sleep, if that. He sent a message to Kylo Ren from his pad, formal, succinct.

_Come to my office at the beginning of the next rotation._

Kylo Ren received the message while he was trying to meditate in his room. The unmade bed behind him bore witness to several hours of unsuccessful sleep. His berth was different than it had been when he’d first returned to the _Finalizer_ ; it looked less like an ambassador’s quarters and more like a metal cave for a warrior monk. The stand he’d had constructed for his grandfather’s helmet was the main feature in the room; the light on it was harsh and didn’t soften the damage that had been done to it by fire and time. The alert from the comm unit on the wall was jarring and he set his teeth to ignore it. Two minutes later, it beeped at him again- a direct message from the commander of the ship was rarely something to dismiss without reading.

The Knight stood up, recognizing by the insistence that it had to be Hux. The _Finalizer_ made sure he read each and every message. He walked over and tapped the notification. It was hard to read between the lines when Hux only ever gave him one. He walked back to the chair to try to start his meditation again, though he was no more successful with the meeting looming over him.

He was late, of course, when he did show up, walking into the general’s office with Mitaka nervously fluttering behind him.

“General, Kylo Ren is here for your meeting,” the young lieutenant said hurriedly, as though the faster he said the words the more it would be like he’d announced the Knight before he’d actually just walked into Hux’s presence.

“Of course.” Hux shifted, frowning. He looked over at Kylo Ren and then stood up. “Lieutenant, you’re dismissed.”

Mitaka didn’t need another excuse. He ducked his head and left the General’s office, the door closing behind him.

Hux didn’t look away from Kylo Ren, and he worked his jaw, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“Sit.”

“Is that necessary for your comfort or mine?” Kylo Ren asked as he stepped forward. Hux looked tired, though he sat as straight as he did when he began his shift. He stood in front of the desk, imposing and slightly too still.

“Mine,” Hux said, voice weary. He sat down and looked up at Ren, pushing his hair back.

“You destroyed the comm room.”

At the movement of Hux’s hand, Kylo noticed that the man’s hair was mussed and free from its usual sleek styling. He must have been very tired, he decided. Without answering, he stepped to the side to seat himself in one of the chairs before the general’s desk.

“Am I being called upon for scolding, general?”

“I doubt that would do anything,” Hux muttered, sitting back, taking a deep breath. “Do you mind telling me why you did it in the first place? It hardly seems like a good use of your time.” Or your energy.

“Feel free to take the cost out of my pay,” Kylo said, setting his hands on his knees. Obviously he had no money within the First Order. He needs were taken care of, and he did what he did as his duty, not as a mercenary. He couldn’t tell Hux that it was him turning and walking away that had been the trigger for it. He sure as hells couldn’t tell him that he’d been acting that way because Snoke had nearly torn him apart. He still hurt, deep inside, in places that weren’t physical and couldn’t be soothed.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Hux said, watching Kylo, but only seeing his mask. He wanted it off, wanted to see Ben’s face. “What was the point?”

“There was no point,” the Knight answered evenly. “Are you so upset about a room?”

“I’m upset about the obvious lack of respect you have for this ship,” Hux replied, frowning. “I’m annoyed that this is the second room you’ve destroyed since coming back on board. This sort of disrespect reflects badly on me, and the Supreme Leader.”

“How does it reflect badly on you, general? I’m sure no one believes that I destroyed the room under your orders.” His tone was mild, slightly mocking. “And if they do, they grossly misunderstand our relationship.”

“This is my ship, anything that happens on it is a reflection of my command.” Hux raised his voice slightly. “I am still responsible for you, even if you are not under my direct command. “When you behave in such...” Hux took a deep breath, under control again, “When you display obvious thoughtlessness, it makes it appear as if I do not have control of my ship. People talk. They know this was you, they know that the you destroyed the simulator a few weeks ago.”

“Then they’ll know not to anger me. This has nothing to do with you.” Behind the helmet, Kylo Ren narrowed his eyes. “Are we through?”

“You could simply agree to regulate your anger differently,” Hux said, glaring. “I’m not asking much of you.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Kylo Ren stood up and nodded to the general, turning to walk to the door.

Hux leaned back in his chair, frustrated and annoyed. Kylo Ren was even more of a beast than he had been a few days ago.

“I’m asking you for a little respect!” Hux said, turning in his chair. “In public, on this ship, that’s what I need from you. I have done everything in my power to accommodate you and your wants, the least you can do is keep your temper.”

Kylo turned back to the general and watched him without speaking for a moment. A lesser man would have been terrified, but Hux didn’t even change position in his chair.

“Did you think I walked in there that day with the intention of destroying the room? If you think that, then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did. The man in the hall was not the man I’d spoken to before I walked into that room.” His fists were ready by his sides.

“You didn’t destroy it on accident,” Hux snapped, eyes narrowed. “While you were in there I heard you and I came. I heard you!” Hux stood up, taking a step forward. “You were disrespectful and dismissive. There were officers nearby, what were you trying to prove?”

“I didn’t mean to say your name out loud,” Kylo said, vocoder failing to hide all of his exasperation. “I was trying to...explain.” He shook his head. He couldn’t tell him more than that, couldn’t show him.

Hux gestured, frustrated. “Explain what?”

«The conversation didn’t go...well.» He was quiet after that, remembering the pressure crushing his lungs, remembering throwing up blood on the smooth clean floor.

Hux set his jaw, silent, turning all the events, all the impressions over. When he realized what Kylo had done he closed his eyes, frowning.

«You confronted him.» Hux shook his head, disgusted, and stepped back to put his hand on the back of his chair. «I thought you had more sense.»

«I like to hit a problem head on.» Kylo took a deep breath; it was silent, unlike the constant wind of his grandfather’s masked breathing in the old holos. «I forget how hard some of them hit back.»

«You know how hard Snoke can hit,» Hux said, sitting down again. «That was incredibly stupid, I hope you know that.»

“All I did was ask a question,” Kylo said aloud, then pressed his mouth. «I thought I was stronger.» It was an admission he’d never give voice to, and after he’d thought it, he turned away.

Hux was silent for a few seconds, watching Kylo Ren carefully. He took a deep breath and swallowed, feeling the turmoil of emotions the other man was fighting down.

«He’ll be watching you more carefully now. You need to be cautious.»

Kylo Ren nodded, turning back to look at the man sitting behind the desk as though the chair was already a throne. He looked at Hux’s gloved fingers, watching how they spread over the arm of the chair, and he was gripped with a desire to feel them around his throat, around his cock, gripping the headboard of a bed over his head, scrabbling in the thick dark dirt on the jungle floor. Clearing his throat, he looked up to Hux’s eyes again.

«As do you.» Kylo knew he hadn’t given up anything of Hux’s, but it made him feel safer to warn him. «He will likely be looking at all higher level authority.» Or not, he reflected. As the Knights operated outside of the military structure, maybe they’d be untouched.

Hux swallowed, eyes widening as he felt the images, the wants fall in on top of him. Somehow he knew what Kylo Ren wanted, what he was thinking. Hux had to look away from the Knight, eyes flicking over the screen but not processing anything.

“I’m always cautious.”

“You think you are,” Kylo Ren answered, then shook his head as he exhaled through his nose. «We have to be cautious.» After all this time of letting go of his inhibitions, of learning to embrace every passion, he would have to remember what it was to be discreet. He would have to remember repression.

«We?» Hux asked, turning back to face Ren, eyebrows up.

Kylo Ren pressed his lips behind the helmet’s blank expression. «You know what I mean.»

Hux smirked, looking away from him again. «I don’t think I do,» he said, opening up another report and shifting slightly, spreading his legs. He sent the thoughts back to Ren, the man on his knees under his desk, hair wild, looking up at Hux with his mouth stretched around the general’s cock.

There were definite moments that the Knight was glad he had a mask to hide his face. One of them was when he wanted to doze during meetings that, for some reason, always occurred too early in the morning. Times like this were also on the list. He licked his lips, wanting to roll his eyes as well. How could the man do that? He’d nearly been torn apart a day ago, and had been on death’s doorstep the day before that.

“If that’s all…”

In three steps, Kylo Ren was behind the desk, hand flat on Hux’s chest as he pushed the man back. The chair balanced precariously on two legs as he loomed over him.

“If it were up to me,” he hissed, “I would have you bent over this desk with your gloves in your mouth to muffle your moans while I reminded you how not careful we could be. I’d have you crawl to me with blood in your eyes. I’d kiss your mouth while you struggled for air…” He swallowed and stopped himself. His hand slid up the front of Hux’s uniform until he held the other man’s throat.

Hux couldn’t breath for a few seconds, and he was sure it wasn’t because Kylo Ren had his hand against his neck. He knew that there was a slight flush along the edge of his cheekbones. He wanted to be laid bare by Kylo Ren, torn apart and held together by this mess of a creature.

«Kneel.» Hux said, not allowing himself to show how aroused he was, how this kind of power was disgustingly attractive.

«Is that what you want?» He tightened his hand on Hux’s throat, feeling him through the glove, feeling the stiffness of his collar, the moment the general swallowed. It was a test; if they were really going through with their half-formed plans and silently-whispered desires. It would be a longer game than they’d thought, perhaps. But he had to know that the convictions they’d held before his disastrous meeting with Snoke were still firm.

Hux nodded, once, tight. He didn’t pull away from Kylo Ren, didn’t try to fight him.

“I know myself, I know what I’m asking.” Hux’s voice was low, tight but steady. “I know what I want.”

Kylo Ren pulled his hand away from Hux’s neck, stepping back to let the chair crash back down onto all four legs.Keeping his eyes on the general’s, though the general couldn’t see his, he knelt down slowly between his knees. His hands were heavy on Hux’s thighs as he looked up slightly to watch his face.

«Then here I am.»

Hux didn’t have the right words for it. He shifted forward and put his hands on Kylo’s helmet, feeling the grooves through his leather gloves. He hadn’t touched it in this iteration, his fingers moving slowly. He wanted to memorize this. Eventually he turned his wrist, and released the mask. The hiss made his breath catch, and he pulled open the helmet, holding onto it, not looking away from Ben’s face.

He swallowed, putting his hand in Ben’s hair, gently placing the helmet on the desk. Leaning down, Hux shifted, pressing his face into Ben’s hair, turning slightly, mouth barely brushing against Ben’s cheekbone.

It wasn’t a secret anymore, Hux doubted it ever was, he wanted Kylo Ren, he wanted Ben Solo, he wanted whatever kind of man or monster held itself still in front him.

«I’ll have you. I’ll keep you.» It was a promise, reassurance, oath, sworn. He shifted slightly, one hand cradling the back of Kylo’s head, and he asked without asking, wanted to know what Kylo knew, wanted to see what he had seen. He wanted to know what Snoke did, what made Kylo so jagged.

The Knight’s bloodshot eyes searched Hux’s face, not sure what he was looking for. It just seemed important, in that moment, to know the angle of his eyebrows, the way the overhead light caught his eyelashes and the gold in them, whether his eyes were ice or steel, how tightly he held his mouth. How much could he share with this man and not rip open the same wound in him, the one at the heart of Kylo Ren that bled the void into the rest of him?

How dangerous was he at this moment, before he even belonged to the general, to the man who would be emperor? He thought of the pieces his world was constructed of, the blackened edges of a cigarette case, a replacement converter cup he had never cleaned the rust off of.

He closed his eyes, unable to bear looking into the other man’s eyes when he shared the impressions of his punishment, cushioning Hux from the raw pain of it and only letting him feel it through the memory, through the shield that was Ben Solo. How he’d pushed, how he’d questioned, and when pressed, how he’d instinctively drawn on the light to fight back.

And how disastrously that had gone. The suffocation, the power and draw of the dark that spread out into nothing. The pain that Snoke had inflicted that had shredded something inside him, something that had left him with blood from his nose and in his stomach. A lesson, as Snoke had said, that he would use to grow. That he would remember.

Hux swallowed, pulling Kylo Ren closer, hands tight in his hair He felt slight brushes, as if he were getting dressed and the fabric of his uniform slid over his skin. It was rough still, and Hux knew that Kylo Ren was holding it back, softening it, smoothing it down.

He sighed, turning his head, temple against Ben’s temple. HIs eyes were closed as he let the memories brush against him, and he resisted the urge to push Ben onto his back, staying above and against him. Instead he kept the man close.

«I feel it. I know it.»

«If I showed you more, you’d look like me.» Kylo knew he presented a deathly pale face still, with undertones of sickly yellow to contrast the dark circles that were like bruises under his eyes. His eyes were no improvement, still bloodshot and red from the blood vessels that had burst under the intense pressure put on him. «We must be careful. It almost kills me to say it, but we have to have restraint.»

“Typical,” Hux murmured, turning against his head, brushing his mouth against the hollow next to Kylo’s eye. He hated, absently, that anything he felt might be broadcast. What kind of restraint he wondered; Hux had already thrown most of his own out the bay.

Kylo Ren took a deep breath, tightening his hands on Hux’s thighs, feeling the muscles underneath his uniform taut with wanting. What sort of broken people wanted other broken people like this? The general was close and real; he wasn’t a holo too far away to reach. He wanted him and knew that to take him now, or to let Hux take him, would remove their necessary focus. Jedi restraint.

«Eyes on the prize,» he murmured finally. “Eyes on the prize.” His mouth was against Hux’s ear as he whispered. «Wait until you see what we can become.»

Hux shuddered, shoulders tensing as he hunched forward, holding Kylo’s head. He wasn’t entirely convinced that this wasn’t some kind of Jedi trick, but he trusted Kylo. He wondered if it was a mistake, but then imagined the man on his back again, hair spread over cold, bare, snowy ground, naked, bleeding, hunted. Hux swallowed, imagined that Kylo was strong enough to hold himself up against the transsteel of the _Finalizer's_ windows as Hux fucked into him.

His hands tightened.

«We will,» Hux sighed, feeling Kylo’s hands on his thighs, wanted his mouth there instead. «Become so much more than we’ve imagined.»

Sedition. The word burned bright in his mind, his body spiked as he thought about tossing aside the conniving sentient who had styled himself Supreme Leader, too shy to take on the title of Emperor. He would, he would. Hux was loyal to the First Order, and it would be just a figure he would destroy, just another promotion; his due. He was owed this, made for this.

The emotions rolled off Hux and into Kylo’s mind like waterfalls of gold stars, overrunning their banks, glinting and blinding with absolute purpose. Where Ben Solo had been consumed with being a legacy, Arrik Hux had been driven his whole life by something different, distant, a future he grasped for even as he felt its certainty. Destiny.

His own loyalties were tied up in the twisted relic of the Empire in his room. However he got there was his own decision. He dug his fingertips into Hux’s legs and raised his head to catch the general’s mouth, sucking on his lower lip as he pulled back and rolled to his feet.

“I should go.”

Hux leaned back in his chair, legs still spread, looking entirely too put together. Maybe some small part of him wanted to be wrecked as well. He nodded and gestured, still looking up at Kylo. He turned to pick up the helmet, holding it out to the Knight.

“Go fight Phasma. I’m sure she’ll get your blood going again.”

Kylo Ren’s smirk was the last expression he let Hux see before he put the helmet on again and let it lock into position. He left the room without speaking again, sweeping by a nervous Mitaka who peeked into the room at the general before the door closed again.

He believed in his extreme restraint for two days. Meetings with Hux were brief and professional, usually official. Without active missions, there was little reason for them to interact, and they were careful about their time alone together. On the second day, Kylo invited Hux down to the firing range. Fifteen minutes into the session, he made an excuse to leave when he heard Hux inhale a certain way and had to get out of the room.

It seemed ridiculous, this grasping desire as though they were two teenagers. He tried to reason it out in his solitary bed, staring up at the dark ceiling and listening to the eternal hum of the ship around him. Was it worse now that they’d set themselves a limit? Was it overwhelming because of their keen excitement, looking into a forbidden future of power and dominion? Ben hummed to himself in the dark, annoyed that just thinking about thinking about Hux was getting him hard. Maybe he was just really really horny.

There was restraint in the comments that seemed to pop into his head and then over to the general before he knew it. At least, he told himself there was restraint. He watched Hux’s nearly averted gaze from the shade of his helmet. He nodded briskly as they passed.

“General.”

«That jacket looks good on you.»

Hux frowned as Kylo Ren walked by, and then returned to his datapad. «Just because one of us has a tailored uniform...»

«Yeah, it looks really nice. It would look even better on my floor.» He kept walking, turning the corner on his way to the newly fixed holo room for a conference with his Knights.

The next day, he stood in the back of a briefing room while the general and Captain Phasma went over a new procedure for incoming calls on a certain range of frequencies. Kylo Ren’s arms were folded over his chest as he leaned against the wall, a silent monolith.

«Do those pants have something magnetic in them?»

Sitting at the table, Hux glanced over at him and frowned before looking back to Phasma. «No.»

«That’s weird. When I look at your ass, I feel like we’re going to come together.» He smiled in secret, knowing he still looked like a terrifying, stoic figure rather than the idiot with the big crooked grin on his face.

Hux didn’t turn to look at Kylo Ren, but he rolled his eyes and put his hand against his temple in a way that was utterly out of place for a man discussing intergalactic transmission protocol. «You’re a kriffing menace.»

The Knight caught his breath and stood up straight at the image accompanying the response. There was no restraint there, nothing restrained about the way the light caught on the gold braid on the general’s parade uniform or the succinct rhythm of his hips as he pushed his cock into Kylo’s open mouth. He could almost feel the way Hux twisted his fingers into his hair to hold him still, then dropped him to walk away to his next meeting, leaving the Knight aching and untouched on the bed.

That was not restraint.

He swallowed hard, bringing his mental walls up before the ginger asshole thought of something he wanted to add to the picture. As soon as the meeting was dismissed, he was the first one out the door, heading straight to his training room to work his mind empty. Hux smirked as he watched him leave, satisfied that he had at least made a very boring meeting somewhat diverting.

By the end of the rotation, Kylo Ren had worked himself to exhaustion. He stood long enough in the refresher that it actually turned off, not detecting any movement for long enough for the sensor to assume he’d left. An hour later, he was still awake, watching the ceiling over his bed as if it would provide easy answers. As nighttime ceilings have never actually done. He chewed his lip, shifting on the bed and feeling the dark satin sheets sliding on the back of his bare shoulders. He sighed aloud.

«Mar? Are you awake?» He had no idea where Sa’marha was at this exact moment. She should have been traveling with Betuo and Noxen back from putting down a nest of Force sensitives in the cave system on Kalakto. He still wanted one more Knight to fill the place left by Takhar Ren, but no individual had been identified by the Supreme Leader. He closed his eyes tightly on his confused thoughts about his master, how much he needed the sentient to teach him and how he was ready to overthrow him (why should he be so loyal to a figure who’d only been in his life for such a short time?). «Where are you?»

Sa’marha Ren was meditating in her small berth on the large shuttle they had been using to travel through the systems. They were almost back at base planet, and she sighed, feeling the familiar brush of Kylo’s consciousness against her own.

«Midway between Elrahith and the Caera star run,» she replied, still floating gently above her cot, «the Ilrokra were taken care of. A few even volunteered to join the Order.»

«Anyone you think would be a good fit with us?» he asked curiously, sliding his open hands on the sheets at his sides. Even at this distance, speaking with her like this was easy.

There was something like a chuckle broadcast as Mar felt his hands over the silken sheets, a feeling like teasing and derision. «Maybe one. Ephreen-Aun’la. Stronger than the others. Sharp teeth. Red eyes. Your type.»

«Is that my type?» He laughed and it felt good, like exhaling after holding his breath for a long time. «I hadn’t known you were keeping track.» He’d give the name to Snoke and let him pursue the Ilrokra.

«You’re predictable, Lord Ren.» She was smirking slightly, happy to be distracted from the rather boorish Noxen Ren.

«Am I?» Kylo liked the tone of her teasing. Her mental voice carried the same accent as her spoken words, with the sharp letters in between open, round sounds. «What will I say next? What will I do?»

«You start with your hands first.» Mar was still smiling, entertained.

Kylo let himself stretch out on the bed a little more, comfortable now that he was alone and not letting himself think about Hux and their self-imposed lack of distractions. Which was totally not how it was going. He was willing to be patient, which was rare enough, but there was Hux determined to be as impossible as always. Even more so. There was no call to send him that image during the meeting. It had been incredibly enticing, which made it more difficult to not think about. Mar was not the general. Their casual Force play had never been a problem.

He let himself think about her, the way she stretched out like a big cat when she was drowsy. At times like that, she was no less dangerous. He shared his thoughts with her, how his hand looked running up her side. «Well, that’s the best way to start. Starting with my mouth always gets me into trouble.»

«Your hands get you in trouble,» she said, letting her head fall back, sliding down onto the bed, arching her back against the not-quite-comfortable cot. She was teasing, reminding him how exactly she moved, muscles and scars and tattoos that covered her entire body. She drew her own hands up on board the ship, sliding them up Kylo’s chest, pushing aside wraps and tiered jackets easily.

She was skilled, he remembered, skilled enough to send strong impressions. Her hands were strong and callused where he felt them slide over his skin. He put hands that were only in his mind on her hips, which were somehow soft for the tight muscle there. «Let’s be fair. Everything gets me into trouble.» Lying still in his bed on the _Finalizer_ , he moved his hand to unbuckle the series of belts she wore around her hips, hearing the slight jingle of the metal as though he was really in the room with her. He let her feel his fingers slide between her thighs, letting the Force act as the sensation between them. He knew how to touch her intimately, where she liked to be touched, how to burn off the excess energy they carried around with them like potential wildfires.

Mar sighed, and on the shuttle she spread her legs. The good thing about this kind of amusement was that they had learned each other’s bodies and wants without much communication at all. Mar didn’t need to tell him to move faster when she lifted her hips up to meet his touch, Kylo didn’t need to say anything (his mouth was put to better use on her neck, on her chest, on her breast) she knew that he liked having his hair pulled and he liked being ridden.

He couldn’t say he’d had no experience with this sort of thing before; he’d learned at a young age how useful the Force could be at the Temple, when your five minutes in the water meant you had your hands free for washing your hair if you used the Force to work off some stress. He’d practiced for year, on himself, on other people, but it had proven so unique with another Force user. He felt her reactions light years away, heard her sigh and saw her bare her teeth.

Kylo wondered if she was alone in her room, though it didn’t matter to him either way. She moved like a creature made of water as he let her feel his mouth tracing the lines of the tattoos up her body. He had every mark memorized, where they dipped and where they crossed. In his room on the _Finalizer_ , his hand moved slightly by his side, fingers directing the sensation inside her to move against the roll of her hips, to caress her from within.

As Mar moaned, systems away, Hux’s eyes snapped open in his berth. He was breathing hard, flushed, and he wondered if first if Kylo Ren was doing this on purpose, if he was sending him dirty thoughts to get back at him, but when felt a woman’s thighs, soft breasts, slim wrists, he knew better. Kylo Ren wasn’t trying to initiate sex with him, he was having sex with someone else.

Hux was furious. It was bad enough that he was tuned into the other man, but now he had to be privy to these intimacies? It was unfair, especially considering the sorts of things that Arrik had imagined doing with Kylo Ren and there he lay teasing him. On purpose, even as he had urged restraint earlier in the week.

Stars, Arrik could kill him.

Kylo Ren had gotten so used to lowering his walls while speaking to anyone this way, he’d forgotten that his most used channel was with the general. He moaned in the privacy of his room, enjoying the spectral feel of Mar’s nails on his chest, the coiling sensation around his cock. He didn’t imagine that several rooms away, Hux was experiencing all of it second hand.

Arrik couldn’t even do anything, he tried reaching out to Kylo Ren and he couldn’t find a way to speak clearly. He couldn’t go and distract himself because as soon as he stood up he felt the emotions and sensations and they drove him back onto the bed, gasping. Fuck. Fuck. Whatever woman Kylo was with was warm, and tight and breathless, and as she rolled her hips down onto Kylo Ren, Hux had to push off his own basics and shirt, had to thrust his own hips up to meet hers.

He didn’t even have to wrap a hand around his cock to feel the pressure, to feel her warm and wet around him. What in all the stars was going on? He was Kylo Ren and he felt the Knight’s woman at the same time, had his hands on her, felt her hands on Kylo’s chest, on his own shoulders. Hux felt like a voyeur, wanted and uninvited at the same time.

How would he know that Kylo Ren was alone in his room, lying on top of his wrinkled dark sheets, barely moving with the sensations. It was enough to let it happen in his head; he and Sa’marha had even done this while sitting to watch the other Knights train in the ring.

For lack of a better term, Hux just had to ride it out. He grasped onto the sheets, eyes closed tight, breathless as he experienced everything that Kylo was experiencing. Felt what he felt, and when there was that familiar ache in his lower abdomen that sank into his cock he knew that he was going to kriffing come with Kylo, with none of the satisfaction of seeing it or causing it.

Kylo Ren arched off his bed, letting himself groan loudly as he never got to at the training facility. He felt Mar around him as though she was there, felt her body and the Force in her, the way she used it on him. His books, set on the shelf by his bed, clattered off and fell to the floor as he let himself flop back with a satisfied, open-mouthed smile.

«I hope you knocked something down.»

Mar laughed aloud, turning over onto her stomach, pulling her arms close. She sighed, pushing her face into the pillow, sated and happy. «I’m sure I woke the ship.» She snickered, taking a deep breath. «I love fucking with Noxen Ren. The man has no tact.»

Kylo smiled and pushed his hair back from his face, resolving to clean up in a bit. «Is he in the room with you? Tell me he is.»

«Next door. Don’t be crude,» she teased, sighing again. «Have I worn you out?»

«Well, it’s the end of rotation here, so I did think I’d catch up on my sleep. I’m working on bringing us all together. A show of power.» He stretched his arms above his head. «The galaxy doesn’t know us yet.»

«They will know us,» she murmured, shifting to sit up, already pulling off her pants and basics, finding replacements quickly. «When will we come together again?»

«I don’t know when. I’ve brought it up to the Supreme Leader.» Their first loyalty was still to Snoke, he knew. But their loyalty to the first Knight was very close to it. He wanted it to be absolute.

«You know how to reach me, Lord Ren,» she went back onto her bed, getting comfortable. «Let me sleep.»

His laugh in her head was quiet and fond. «Oh, my apologies. I kept you from your rest with my idle chatter.»

Sa’marha hummed, and it was almost a chuckle, and she slowly pulled away from Kylo Ren. «You sleep too.»

He forced himself to roll up to sitting, then leaned over the edge of the bed to pick up the books that had been dislodged by his release. They were the books from Hux’s library, the officer’s journal and the adventure story. He’d need to return that eventually, he thought, and pick up the next one. He set them both on the table again and walked out to the refresher.

Hux was furious, and he had already taken a shower and changed by the time Kylo got into the shower. He was trying to sleep, and by the time Kylo Ren had left his shower, Hux had already decided that tomorrow night the force-user would get a taste of his own medicine.

By the time Kylo Ren headed to his bed the following rotation, he was more tired than he’d been the previous night. With his hair still damp from the refresher, he got into bed and laid down on his side. He needed the sleep; he’d pushed himself today, trying to control some of the tech in the archive room he used with the Force. While it hadn’t been a great success, he’d drained himself and was well on his way to sleep within five minutes of lying down.

The next night, Hux called Tracks back to his room. He knew that twice in less than two months was pushing it, but the trooper wasn’t an Elect, was just a canon operator, and in the worst case scenario he could always reassign the trooper in a few weeks.

He didn’t think that would happen.

Instead, he pulled the man into his berth and ordered him to strip out of his training clothes, knowing that Kylo Ren was in his rooms. The general had actually waited until Kylo Ren returned to his berth before calling Tracks up, dismissing the trooper of the remainder of his daily duties for the sake of his own petty revenge.

Hux only allowed himself to feel bad about it for a few seconds before getting distracted by Tracks’ mouth on his neck. Usually Hux was on some kind of schedule, he insisted on making these encounters fast and satisfying, but it seemed like this might be a shining opportunity to let Tracks have some fun.

He held the trooper by the back of his neck, letting the man kiss his collarbone, his own uniform already half undone as he pulled the young man back into his bedroom. He tried his best to project, he knew that Kylo had his walls down, he had spoken with him earlier in the day.

Stars, this was why he liked fucking troopers, Hux thought as he got Tracks onto his bed, the man already naked and asking what Hux wanted. They were compliant, eager to please, and cut like some kind of marble statue.

And Kylo Ren slept, turning onto his back when the room seemed warmer suddenly, uncomfortably warm. His dreams were amorphous, shapes that were loathe to coalesce. The vague sensations were more obvious, and he shifted again under the dark sheets as though to shake them.

Hux took his time. He pulled Tracks around and kissed his chest, running his hands down the man’s cut chest. He turned him over and drew his mouth down Track’s spine before pulling back, looking at the way the trooper had gotten his legs and knees underneath himself, pressing his ass to Hux.

Hux sighed, rubbing Track’s ass with both of his hands before slapping him, leaving a bright red mark on the man’s cheek. Stars, that was satisfying, and Hux hummed as the trooper whined loudly, pushing back again.

In his room, Kylo Ren dreamed vividly, or thought he did. Rolling over onto his front, he gripped the pillowcase by his head as he moaned, eyes opening sharply when he felt the sharp slap. That was too real, the sound too fresh inside his head. It wasn’t a dream, or wasn’t his at least. He recognized the sensation, the feeling of it.

This was Hux’s dream and it was just spilling over onto him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, letting himself experience it. This is what he’d wanted for days, what he’d thought about. Grinding back against the general and feeling his sharp hipbones against his ass, the aura of smug satisfaction above him.

Hux gave Tracks another slap on the ass, and then a third, each leaving a harsh red mark. He leaned down to pull on the man’s curly hair, pulling him up until the man was straining, arching backwards as Hux bit down on the meat of his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist, holding him up as he began to rut against Track’s ass slowly.

The trooper knew better than to say anything, but he breathed loudly, moaning and making small, whimpering noises as Hux’s hand became hurting and insistent on his hip, Hux’s teeth dragged down Hux’s other hand was in Tracks’ hair, pulling his head back. The general turned slightly, mouth against Track’s ear.

“This one time.” he reached around and grabbed the man’s cock, squeezing hard, pumping once before letting go, “You may speak.”

«Oh? May I?» Kylo Ren had heard the general’s voice as though it had been his ear the man had whispered it into. His hand on him was tight, insistent. He imagined it was him Hux was thinking about anyway. He shared his imagined sensation, knowing the feeling of Hux over him, pressing into him...then realized, as he saw into Hux’s mind, that it wasn’t a dream.

Arrik Hux was fucking another man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they are the worst. this is what happens when you give dudes big dicks and too much power, honestly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> guys all your comments were great, thank you all so much. this chapter is....mostly porn, so that's either warning or encouragement, i'm not sure which.
> 
> tw/ sex

“Oh Gods, General, again,” Tracks mumbled, sliding his ass up again. Hux smirked and slapped his other cheek, feeling Ren at the edge of his consciousness.

«I thought you liked this?» Hux sent back to Kylo quickly, thinking of last night, the feeling of a woman, nails down his chest. Hux shifted, dragging his own hands down Tracks ass before slapping him again.

“That’s so good,” Tracks sighed, pushing back against Hux, ass against hips. “I want you in me, I want your hand, your cock.”

«Who’s there with you?» Kylo Ren’s voice was like blue fire, so hot and uncontrolled it was almost cold. «Some numbered waste of your time?» He imagined slamming Hux back against a wall, watching him choke and knowing he still wanted him.

Hux took a sharp breath in. “Shut up.”

Tracks didn’t question it, moaned into the sheets as Hux’s hands stilled against his hips.

Stars, all day this had seemed like a great idea, a little, small piece of petty revenge against a man who had kept him up for hours, torturing him. This whole charade had been carefully planned, he wanted Kylo Ren to know. But now all he wanted was Kylo instead of this trooper.

He almost felt guilty, just for a second, less than a second, that he had involved a man like Tracks in his own personal schemes. This should have been a private matter and he had turned it into something that was less than satisfying.

Tracks turned over onto his back, legs still spread on either side of Hux’s. His own cock rested on his stomach, red and erect, and Tracks started jerking himself off, watching Hux, open-mouthed. He didn’t need to say ‘fuck me, general’ for Arrik to know exactly what the trooper wanted.

Kylo Ren saw it all through Hux’s eyes, going into his head to see it with a much less gentle touch. His jaw was set as he sat up in his dark room, wanting to hurt Arrik and wanting to hold him against the wall and fuck him, bite him, make him whisper in his ear. «Are you satisfied with what you have, general?»

Hux pulled Tracks close, hands under his knees, lifting the troopers hips up across his thighs. He had the lube on his bed and he put some on his finger and then pressed one into Tracks, watching him squirm. He wanted to speak so badly, but he pressed his wrist against his mouth.

Hux had thought this would be satisfying, but having Ben know, having Kylo Ren in his head as he took so little pleasure from this, it only made him angry. He slapped Tracks’ hand away from his cock, shoving a second finger into him brutally.

It was infuriating that Kylo knew (absolutely) that what Hux really wanted was Kylo Ren moaning and gasping underneath him. Arrik put his hand on Tracks’ chest, holding him down, turning his ass up further so he could fuck into him harder, hand working over Tracks, fingers twisting inside him.

«Put up your walls, general. I don’t want to see this.» Kylo Ren’s voice was like an instant headache, driving into Hux’s mind like a spear.

«Put up your own kriffing walls,» Hux snapped, remembering again the phantom thighs around his hips, his mouth on a woman’s neck.

There was a moment of silence between them, a sort of pause where Kylo’s angry, dark voice had been before. Then the general’s door was wrenched open so hard the mechanism couldn’t keep up and there was a continued clicking sound in the wall as it tried to engage.

Tracks scrambled away from Hux, already trying to stand in between the general and whatever was coming into the berth. Hux was still in his basics, his pants discarded. And he snorted, looking over at Tracks. “Put some kriffing pants on.”

Kylo Ren strode through the doorway a few seconds later, helmet on though he was only wearing a long black robe. His hair was loose down his back and though his face was hidden, there was no mistaking his expression when he spoke.

“TR-8941, return to your duties. The general and I are scheduled for a meeting.” The vocoder kept his voice even, though the clenched fist by his side gave away some of his emotional state.

“I-”

“Do as he says, trooper.” Hux said quickly, standing up.Tracks was already struggling with his clothing, at least he only had his training uniform and not his standard armor. The man couldn’t get out of Hux’s berth fast enough and the general glared at Ren the entire time, mouth pressed.

Kylo Ren barely stepped aside to let the stormtrooper leave. He impassively stood as he looked Arrik over, the flush in his face that was anger and arousal.

“What was that?” he demanded.

“I think it was pretty obvious what that was,” Hux hissed, glaring at Kylo. “Take off your helmet when you’re speaking to me, you look absurd.”

“I look absurd? You’re standing there in your basics, and I look absurd?” He was jealous, he was angry, he was tired. He wanted Hux like he’d wanted few other things in his life.

“We’ve descended to the level of common insults and you simply repeat them back to me?” Hux snapped, furious. He didn’t know which emotions were his and which were Ben’s. “I let you have your night, why won’t you let me have time to myself?”

“My night? What in the seven hells are you talking about?” Ben reached up and impatiently undid his helmet, yanking it off his head and pushing his hair away from his face. It had to be cut, he decided. “What night? This?”

“Last night!” Hux’s hands clenched at his sides. “You were with a woman and you pulled me in! The entire time, I was right there, you just...you had no regard for walls or privacy or restraint, and you thought that I should be privy to your...liaison!

Flinging the helmet onto the bed, Kylo glared at Hux. “What woman? I was alone the whole night! Check your security feeds. I’m sure there’s no blackout on my berth.”

“Then why was I up for hours last night listening in as you had sex?” Hux glared at Kylo Ren. “I think you’re getting defensive because you’re lying. I was there, I felt...everything.”

“I was alone in my room! I was…” Kylo looked to the side as he cut himself off. He’d spoken with Sa’marha last night. More than spoken with her. But it has just been the two of them.

Unless he’d been less than careful and not bothered keeping himself guarded, as used to leaving his walls down to speak to Arrik as he had been lately.

“I was alone,” he finished lamely.

“Get out,” Hux hissed, furious, red rising on his cheeks. “I will not be lied to and I will not be made a fool of.”

Kylo Ren gestured and Hux was flung back onto his bed hard enough to knock the pillows off the side of the mattress. He advanced to the foot of the bed and looked down at him, eyes fiery and dangerous.

“You accuse me of lying? Have I ever bothered to lie to you, general? You take your petty revenge because, yes, I let you see a fantasy. I assure you I was alone. You have no woman on your ship with horns, do you?” When Hux moved to rise, the Force pushed him down again.

“Why even let me?” Hux asked, furious, fighting against the Force around him. He was outmatched and unafraid, tired and frustrated and no longer prone to checking his tongue. “You ask for restraint and then you torture me. I act on my desires, I take what I want.”

“It was a mistake,” Kylo admitted through gritted teeth, looking down the length of his arm, past his outstretched hand to the man pinned to the bed. “I’m so used to…” He shook his head. “You take what you want? Do you? Some numbered ass on the line. The general clicked his fingers, so he came. That’s what you want?”

“You know what I want,” Hux said, still flushed. He pressed his mouth, not saying anything else, just focused on Kylo.

“Then why don’t you take it?” Kylo lowered his hand, his dark eyes were as much a restraining power as the Force had been. “You caution restraint from the moment I meet you. Now when I agree, you’re like a time bomb waiting to go off. Why?”

“I was doing fine until last night,” Hux spat, annoyed with himself. He had been petty, indulged in low desires and look where it had gotten him. He had been so sure that this would feel like victory, but he only had mud in his mouth. “It won’t happen again.”

“Won’t it?” the Knight asked as mildly as if his voice was being processed through the vocoder. “What will happen next time?” His gaze moved between Hux’s face and the helmet that had rolled against Arrik’s side when Kylo had pushed him down.

“It won’t happen again!” Hux said, voice rising in irritation and frustration. “There won’t be a next time, it’s none of your concern and if you want to stand on denial you should take your own advice! Don’t play with me when you only have time to pursue your own passions.”

Kylo Ren lifted his hand again and pulled his helmet to himself, putting it over his head and exhaling when the lock mechanism pulled the mouthpiece into place.

“I’ve never played with you, general. We don’t have the time anymore.” His words were clipped as he looked down at the man still splayed on the bed, flushed and furious, unselfconscious though he was mostly a display of pale skin, covered in small freckles and scars. He wanted him to try to get up. He wanted to see the man rise again so he could crush him back.

Seeing the helmet speaking to him again, Hux was angered all over. He stood up, and was quickly forced back onto the bed. His face flushed in embarrassment, and he did his best to keep his expression as neutral as possible.

“Stay down, general.” Kylo Ren smiled ferally behind the helmet. “I want to see you there. I want you to tell me what you want. What are all these needs of yours, that are not being met in your line of duty?”

“Shut your kriffing mouth, Kylo Ren,” Hux snarled, up on his elbows, sleep-deprived, hungry in a few ways and too annoyed to tame his words. “Either leave or get on your gods-damned knees.”

“Would you know what to do with me?” Kylo asked in a curious tone that was half a purr at this point, rumbling through the voice modulator at the man pinned on the bed. “I have you, and you make demands. Give commands.”

“I think you’d know what I do with you,” Hux said, glaring at Kylo Ren. “Unless you’re going to suck my cock you should leave.”

Without saying anything, Kylo Ren climbed onto Hux’s bed over the low footboard like some predatory animal. His robe was coming open as he crawled up toward the man he still had held down on the mattress by an invisible power. He trailed his hand up the general’s leg, watching him through the helmet.

“I suppose this way, you’ll hold still,” he said finally.

“Take-” He jerked his arms, realized he was pinned and growled. Hux was furious as he sat back, spread his legs, arched his back. “Your kriffing helmet off.”

“Why?” the Knight asked, unperturbed by Hux’s fury. “You know I don’t have to.” As he spoke, the sensations began for Hux. Without laying a hand on him, Kylo Ren let him feel a mouth on him. His mouth specifically, the way he couldn’t help using his teeth, the way his full lips pressed tight as he pushed them down the shaft then drew back slowly.

“Fuck you-” Hux gripped the sheets underneath him, putting his feet on the bed. “I’ll have your mouth or I won’t have you.”

“If that isn’t my mouth, whose mouth is it? Oh, that’s right. You don’t know. Because you’ve never let me do this any time I’ve offered.” Kylo pressed Hux’s thighs apart, looking down at him for a minute before sitting back. The pressure holding Hux lifted. “Take your basics off.”

Hux scrambled forward, reaching immediately for Kylo’s helmet.

Kylo Ren jerked back from him, “Stop! What’re you doing?”

“Taking this damned thing off,” Hux muttered, moving forward, putting his hands on Kylo’s helmet, fingers finding the mechanism easily, pulling the faceplate away and dropping the entire thing onto the ground. He wrapped one hand in Kylo’s hair, leaning back, pressing his face against his hip. “Go on,” he growled, pushing his pants down and taking the rest of his clothing off.

Kylo Ren bit the soft, almost translucent skin on the inside of Hux’s sharp hip bone. He bit him to remind the general that he did have teeth, that he was dangerous, that this was a game and was only ever the precursor to their hunt. There was nothing of Ben Solo in that bite, in the knowledge of the dark bruise it would leave. He was already looking forward to seeing the general on the bridge, watching him walk, knowing the mark was there beneath his uniform.

He gripped Hux’s other hip in a hard, demanding hand, pushing him down against the mattress. He wrinkled his nose and knelt up again.

“You were already in your other boy,” he said with distaste. “I don’t want you secondhand.”

Hux groaned, his head back. He twisted the sheets underneath him with one hand, pulling on Kylo’s hair with the other.

“Don’t be common,” Hux said, shifting underneath him. “I barely touched him, just open your mouth.”

“As you wish.” Kylo Ren wrapped his hand around the base of Hux’s cock and he put his mouth against the head. Turning his fingers around him, he teased Arrik with the tip of his tongue as he ran it around and then pressed up against the underside of his cock. With agonizing slowness and more patience than he usually showed, he kept his lips tight as he took him into his mouth, just as he had shown Hux before.

It was easy to tell what the general liked; his mind sent flashes of colors as his hips pushed forward toward Kylo’s mouth. The slow introduction wasn’t sustainable. He dragged his teeth to remind Hux that they were there, that he was vulnerable, that he was always vulnerable. As he picked up a harsh rhythm, he felt Hux’s knees drawing together on either side of him. He squeezed his cock as he pumped the base of the shaft in short strokes, then slapped his inner thigh with the open palm of his free hand.

Hux hissed, pulling on Kylo Ren’s hair. Gods, the man knew what he was doing. Hux was sure that the Knight was being infuriating on purpose.

“Keep going,” Hux said, voice hoarse. “I’m not done.”

Kylo Ren raised his eyes to Hux’s face for a moment, and though his mouth was busy, his eyes were smiling dangerously. He continued to bob his head, taking the time to get to know every millimeter of Hux’s cock, tongue following creases and indentations as he worked his mouth on him. The bottle of lube was still open on the bed. As he congratulated himself on what an impressive use of the Force it was, he squeezed some onto the fingers of his free hand.

«Do you want more?» He brushed his slicked fingers against Arrik, taking his cock deeply into his throat as he asked.

Hux couldn’t even form real words, he just nodded, sliding closer to Ben’s hand. He hadn’t been taken, hadn’t had anyone in him in years.

«Slow,» Hux gasped, lifting his hips up. «More, slowly.»

There was a surprising enormity to this, to the way Hux was reacting. Like he was fighting himself to allow it. Kylo Ren had his moment of wanting to hurt him, wanting to take the permission and drive it to its limit, but when he looked over the man lying spread and vulnerable in front of him, his eyes picked out things that made it impossible. Those round scars, the marks of angry, spent cigarettes. He closed his eyes as he leaned into him, pushing his middle finger into the general’s body slowly, pausing when he felt Arrik’s muscles tighten in momentary protest around him. He drew his mouth back, tongue moving in small strokes against the underside of his cock as he thrust his finger into Hux in small, steady pulses.

Hux was taking slow breaths, relaxing underneath Kylo Ren. The handprint on his thigh stung, his cock ached, and he knew that he was one word or thought away from getting the roughest fucking of his life. It was something like trust and something like desire. There was no such thing as restraint anymore. Kylo was doing everything to keep him calm, centered, and he put both hands in the Knight’s hair, not pulling him, barely holding him.

«Keep going.»

He didn’t need to be told, but who doesn’t like encouragement? He pressed his finger into the other man more deeply, bending it slightly so the knuckles would stroke him as they moved. He kept the movements of his head slower, shallower, more tongue than throat, more lip than teeth. When he felt Hux relax just enough, he added a second finger, knowing the moment to turn them as he pulled them back, using the sounds and tangled emotions the general was releasing as his cues.

Arrik was doing his best to stay open and responsive letting Kylo into his thoughts, not keeping back his emotions showing Kylo exactly what he wanted, gasping as the man stroked him, curled his fingers. This was much more intimate, much worse than the rushed fucking of a few weeks ago. The feeling of Kylo’s tongue on his cock was soft, just enough to make him flush a deep red all down his chest.

«Remember this,» it was one of the first coherent thoughts he had in a while, projected as he became comfortable around Kylo’s fingers, head tilted back as he let himself enjoy this. «The moments when I’m at your mercy.»

Kylo’s eyes smiled and his eyelashes drew down over them to hide the expression, whether it was fond or feral. He took him in deeply again, opening his throat before humming around him, his agreement, his acquiescence. Of course he’d remember. He moved his fingers within him, turning them as he withdrew them, then gently curving them as he pressed into Arrik again, finding the parts of him that caused his muscles to tighten, that caused his mouth to open, that cause him to grab for the blankets as though he was afraid of falling.

Hux responded to Kylo Ren’s touch immediately, every pull of his fingers, every turn of his wrist. Arrik was flushed all over, rid of self consciousness.

«Will you come for me, general? Like this?»

«I could.» He was beyond snark, he couldn’t do much but answer honestly. «I’m only sorry I’ve missed out on your mouth all these months.» Another sharp intake of breath, and Arrik squirmed, rolling his body on the bed.

The admission spurred Kylo on. The times he’d offered, though he hadn’t ever come out and said anything, ran through his head, as well as Hux walking away from him. Leaving him on his knees. He pushed Hux down onto the bed again, immobilizing his hips as he moved over him. He felt Hux’s muscles straining against him, heard the faster intake of air into his lungs.

«Good. I want you to.»

«Make me,» Hux groaned loudly, trying to lift his hips and finding them immobilized. He tried to move again and made another frustrated noise, gasping. He didn’t want to speak, couldn’t send the words. He projected brief flashes, another finger, Kylo’s mouth, a hand around his neck.

«Make me.»

«You’re greedy as hell,» Kylo muttered into Hux’s head, but he paused before thrusting his fingers into the man’s body again. He teased him with three, then slowly pushed them in, listening to Hux. He was less patient this time; after the slow entry to the first knuckle, he pressed them in fully.

It took a few seconds for Hux to relax, but his back arched and he mouthed at words that never came. He was completely focused on Kylo’s hands, on his mouth, and he desperately wanted Kylo’s tongue on his cock. «And you’re going to give it to me,» he panted through their connection. «Or do I have to do everything myself?»

Hux had his hand in Kylo Ren’s hair and he pulled harshly, putting the knight’s face towards his cock.

It was an unexpected move and shouldn’t have been, at the same time. Even lying below him, Hux was a general, a commander. He gagged on the head of Arrik’s cock and was furious, knowing the pleasure the man would take in it.

«Do that again,» he growled into Hux’s mind. «And I’ll bite.» He thrust three fingers into him deeply, more roughly than he had before. «Hard.»

Kylo Ren wasn’t wrong, Hux was delighted; he hummed and then groaned, arching his back into Ren’s hand. He was getting close and he pulled on Kylo’s hair again, although he was sure the other man knew.

Everything betrayed him: the sound of his quick breathing, the flush over his pale chest, the way the muscles in Hux’s thighs tightened on either side of the Knight. He built up a rhythm with his fingers, knowing it would hurt him, knowing it would push him to the edge. He pulled back to suck on the head of Hux’s cock again, lapping at the underside before tonguing the slit.

This sort of vulnerability was almost impossible for Hux. He had done so much to keep everything about himself under absolute control.

Now, Arrik didn’t even try to fight the oncoming rush. He gasped, didn’t pretend like he wasn’t enjoying the rough treatment, the hot, wet mouth around his cock. Hux tightened his grip for a few seconds as he came, his gasp stuttering as he arched his back, eyes wide open, watching the ceiling, turning to look out the bay window, hips jerking up into Kylo’s mouth.

At that last moment, Kylo released the hold he had on the general’s body, allowing him free movement as he finished. He’d expected something louder, a sharp, restrained cry bitten back at the last second. But the shuddered gasp vibrated through Hux’s body, and Kylo’s mouth was flooded with heat that he was slow swallowing. He’d pulled back and he knew there was some cum on his face; he could feel it on his chin and on his lips. He withdrew his fingers, then knelt up to look down at Arrik.

Hux was breathing hard, red and flushed from cheeks to chest, his hand tangled in Kylo’s hair for a few more seconds before the knight pulled away. Arrik was blinking, trying to see out the window, watching the blinking stars, riding his orgasm as his heart rate slowed. He felt all his muscles loosen and relax, the familiar sting around his entrance where Kylo’s fingers had been.

He wanted to look, wanted to see Kylo’s face, but he was still looking at the stars. Swallowing, Hux shifted slightly, finding himself again, and he got his elbows up underneath him to look up at Kylo Ren.

«Good,» he murmured, soft, sated, appreciative.

Kylo looked back at him steadily, lips slightly puffy, mouth open a bit still. Keeping his eyes on Hux’s, he ran his finger over his chin then sucked the residual cum off it. He wiped his hand on the sheets, licking the corner of his mouth to finish cleaning his face.

“Next time you want something,” he said, voice quiet and hoarse. “Get the thing you actually want. Not some cheap replacement.”

Stars he looked wrecked. Arrik wondered if he looked something like that as well. He shifted slightly, turning his head, falling back onto the bed. He swallowed and then licked his lips, taking a deep breath before responding.

“So much for restraint,” he said finally, still on display for Kylo Ren, not making any moves away from him.

Not bothering to hide it, Kylo Ren let his eyes move over Hux’s body again, the lines he’d come to memorize, the dips he knew and could picture when he was alone. Then he smiled, a real smile. Ben Solo’s smile.

“Tomorrow’s a new day. I guess we can start restraining ourselves then.”

«Perhaps I’ll restrain you instead,» Hux sighed, arching his back to stretch on the bed.

Kylo Ren watched him again, how he was like a great pale cat when he moved. How easy he would be to hunt in the dark deep growing greens of the jungle. How difficult he would be to track in the snow.

«You can try,» he said mildly.

«I would tell you,» Hux muttered, pulling his legs back, no longer straddling Kylo. «And you would stay.»

“That isn’t restraint, general,” Kylo said, putting his hand to the outside of Hux’s thigh as he leaned forward. «That’s either obedience or just playing nice.» Without warning, he slapped the skin under his hand, then smiled as he sat back.

Hux hissed, and his shoulders jerked forward. He wanted to reach up and slap Kylo Ren, wanted to pull his head back down and force Kylo to just keep his mouth around his cock for hours.

«You’re mine,» Hux responded, leaning his head back, closing his eyes. He was naked, exposed, vulnerable, but he was also sure and confident. This was an absolute for him, he just knew; «You will obey me.»

«When I choose to.» Kylo leaned down over him and kissed him roughly, without his permission, letting Hux taste himself in the Knight’s mouth.

Under him, Arrik moaned, leaning up to meet Kylo. He quickly reached up and pulled Kylo off him, snarling as he shifted to sit up a little more, hand tangled in his hair.

«You’re a menace.»

Kylo smiled wickedly as Hux came up with him, tilting his head slightly with Arrick’s fingers wound into it. He’d have to cut it, the thought came to him again. This long, it was a leash, it was a weakness.

“Perhaps, but you don’t seem to mind me as much as you say, general,” he said quietly.

Hux made a low noise, falling back. He let go of Kylo’s hair and gestured towards the door.

“You can leave,” he said, smirking, lounging on his bed.

“I can, you’re right. It would be very simple.” He reached past Hux, watching the muscles in the man’s torso tighten slightly in readiness. He grabbed the edge of the bed and leaned over, snatching his helmet up from where Hux had dropped it. Pushing his heavy hair back over his shoulder as he sat up again, he met Arrik’s eyes once more before putting the helmet back on and locking it into place. “I trust you’ll sleep well.” The rumble of his modified voice was strange after their intimate whispers and seductive threats in one another’s heads.

As Kylo covered his face again, Arrik pushed down his annoyance and sighed through his nose. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the bed, “Good night, Ren.”

Kylo stood up from the bed slowly, gracefully rising to his full height to look down at the general. It was a pleasure to look at him and know he’d done this to him, left him flushed and exhausted, sore and wondering, gathering up his dignity and his authority. “Good night, general.” Pausing one more second, he reached down to touch the man’s ankle, then turned and stalked out as though leaving the bridge.

Hux chuckled, satisfied and exhausted. Kylo left and Hux shifted to slide out of the bed, shucking the sheets off the bed and finding another blanket. He spread it over the cover and then lay on that, falling asleep naked on top of the sheet. It was petty, but effective, and he was sure that Kylo had been bound to him even tighter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here's the final chapter of Balance of Power! enjoy it, and thank you so much for all your lovely comments. 
> 
> tw/ torture. sex. this time they are separate.

The holo room was dim as Kylo Ren and General Hux stood on the holo pad waiting for the call from Supreme Leader Snoke that had been scheduled rather last minute. Kylo hoped it was a call with a new mission. He needed movement, he needed action, he needed to feel that they were driving forward.

“Phasma and I are sparring this evening, if you’d like some entertainment, general,” he said through the mask, smile hidden as he kept his face forward.

“If I need a diversion, I’ll be sure to keep you in mind,” Hux muttered, almost smirking. He took a deep breath and didn’t let himself project annoyance or upset to the man standing next to him. He was not so eager to await at the beck and call of the Supreme Leader. The fact that he had been called into a meeting with Snoke and Kylo Ren didn’t bode well.

At the worst, it meant that something had gone very wrong, and in the best case scenario it meant that Snoke had some kind of assignment for both of them. An assignment wouldn’t be any kind of blessing, considering their mercurial natures. They’d be at each other’s throats in just a few rotations.

Kylo Ren smiled as he rolled his shoulders back, making sure that he had the posture he wanted to present to his master. He felt very strong right then, letting himself feel the strong presence of the general at his side. They were the true power, and it was impossible to think otherwise. Their plans were still nebulous and half-formed when they shared them wordlessly, images of their future, the galaxy’s future.

They were connected, and Hux knew that standing here, at attention, waiting to face the man who would call himself Supreme Leader, the two of them wanted more. Their title, their role, it was something strange and unformed, and Hux knew that Kylo was thinking about it too. They weren’t communicating, really, but they were sharing. That might be the best way to put it, their shared space, their shared consciousness.

“Has the Supreme Leader told you what to expect from this meeting?” Hux asked, perfunctory and curious. Despite speaking, he was still enjoying their shared-ness, shoulders not quite touching, words not quite spoken.

Looking over at him, the Knight frowned behind the helmet’s faceplate.

“I assumed he had given you some indication with the meeting request,” he said evenly. That seemed ominous, suddenly, that they’d both been called in with absolutely no idea of the purpose of the call. They’d had no missions, nothing to be spoken to about. If it was training, he would have been called in alone. If it was about the new weapon Hux was so deeply involved in building, the general would have been the one brought in. But this? With no clue? There was something slightly wrong with it; Kylo felt it deep in the pit of his stomach.

Although he didn’t know it, the general’s expression mirrored Kylo’s. Just barely frowning. He hummed, didn’t turn his head, kept his eyes on the holopad. Hux felt the unease in their shared space. He took a deep breath.

“We’ll find out soon.”

Before Kylo Ren could answer, there was a chime from the comm unit, then the slight delay before the holo flickered up into existence when the call actually began. He took a deep breath, re-squaring his shoulders as though he could make his posture straighter, more rigid, more ready. He knew it wasn’t his place to speak first.

The holo was the same as always, the figure of the Supreme Leader huge and tinged grey blue, the distance between them betrayed by the slight distortion that pulled at the edge of the image. Snoke sat on the rough hewn throne-like chair he favored and looked down at them where they stood with their faces turned up, expectant.

“Kylo Ren. General.” His voice was calm and impossible to read, just as his pitted face held an expression that gave nothing away.

The Knight bowed his head, holding his silence a moment longer.

“Supreme Leader. We’re honored to hear from you. We hadn’t had any contact from you in some time.”

Snoke’s eyes narrowed and beside Kylo, Hux’s shoulders tightened. Already the man had betrayed their familiarity.

“We?” Snoke’s voice rumbled. “My meetings with General Hux are none of your concern, Kylo Ren.”

Kylo swallowed and ground his teeth behind the mask. How had he already misstepped?

“Of course, Supreme Leader. My apologies. I meant only that we have both been eager for news, for work to do.”

If Hux trusted their lines of communication, he would have screamed at Kylo through their link. We. The constant use of we as if they meant something, as if the Supreme Leader would tolerate this use of the royal we. The Knight seemed unable to stop himself, and Hux knew that interrupting would only show his own investment. Instead, he frowned slightly, glanced over at Kylo and then looked back up at the Supreme Leader.

“Have you not been keeping up with your training? Has the General not attended to his duties?” Snoke’s voice rose, rough and angry. “The very minute I appear you speak carelessly and in haste.”

Again, like the tide along the shore, Snoke’s power rose over their boots, surrounded them, pressing down.

Hux’s jaw was tight. He had not been called upon, he had not been asked to speak. He tilted his head up, not looking away from Snoke. To say anything now would be seen as defensive, arrogance, and he could not betray himself.

Kylo Ren shook his head once, eyebrows drawn down low over his eyes.

“I have not been lax with my training, Supreme Leader,” he said finally. “I cannot speak for the general’s activities.”

“No. You have been diligent in your own entertainment,” Snoke said in his low gravelly voice. He didn’t look to Hux at all.

“I…” The Knight took a deep breath, trying to reason through every sentence he’d said that had led them to this point.

Snoke didn’t help him at all, keeping his deep eyes fixed on his student.

“I? Or we?” he asked quietly.

There was no answer. At least, there was no correct answer. Kylo Ren swallowed again, straightening his shoulders.

Hux set his jaw, glancing from Kylo Ren to Snoke again.

“These arguments over semantics are distracting.” Hux finally said, affecting a tone of intense loftiness, as if he were above such issues. “Supreme Leader, you called me here for a reason, as hard as it is to rush through Kylo’s tantrums, shouldn’t you and I discuss our business?”

“What makes you think we have business, general?” Snoke said quietly. “I am quite aware that you are...distracted.”

Hux’s eyes narrowed, and for a second he was furious, even as the power rose around him.

“The First Order has always been my primary concern. I have no such distractions,” he responded, voice even. “Such implications are a waste of your time and mine, Supreme Leader.”

“Do you accuse me of making erroneous suppositions, general?” Snoke didn’t yell it; his voice was too calm, too quiet and Kylo Ren felt the danger.

Hux paused before he continued.

“No Supreme Leader, I’m merely hoping to understand why I was asked here today.” His voice was careful and measured. Not hard or angry. He swallowed. “I apologize if I appear presumptuous.”

“We should just-” Kylo’s quick interjection wasn’t fast enough. Snoke looked away from Hux to keep his eyes on his Knight. Kylo was silent as soon as his master’s eyes swung over to him, words suddenly gone from his throat.

Supreme Leader Snoke gestured with a single finger to immobilize Hux, then with his wrist still on the armrest of his stone throne, stretched out his fingers, palm facing out. Immediately, tendrils of shocking blue twisted around the general’s body.

Hux dropped to the floor almost immediately, mouth opening in surprise. His greatcoat spread across the ground, his cover skittered across the floor, resting against the edge of the holovid platform. He had no defense, no way of stopping the pain that tore through his body, electricity making his heart flutter strangely. He rolled over onto his back and his feet scrambled for purchase along the slick floor, his spine arching.

A scream ripped from Hux’s throat, his eyes wide as he writhed on the floor. The lightning sunk into his skin, slipped in between his teeth as he screamed.

Kylo Ren felt his entire body pull toward Hux, the pain reaching him through the connection he always kept open between them. His hand stretched out toward the man beside him, then he took a deep gasping breath and pulled it back to his side in a tight fist. He turned his face back up to Snoke, hearing his own harsh breathing inside his helmet.

He couldn’t help him. This is how he could fix the damage he’d done. It felt wrong; every scream tore at the insides of his ribcage. But he stood there, stoic. Unmoved. If he spoke against this, if he moved to protect Arrik in any way, he would undo them. If he shielded Hux, it would confirm the suspicions Snoke obviously had about their relationship, that they were too close and too willing to work together. He had to let the other man writhe on the platform beside him as though he was nothing, as though he had never pulled the earth apart for him, as though he’d never stood in the man’s memories and learned how to whisper ‘Arrik.’

Hux was gasping, turning on the ground, his gloved fingers scrambling against the slick metal floor. The lightning faded, some of the stray sparks sinking into the creases of the ship. He knew better than to say anything, than to argue. This was not the first time he had been tortured, it wasn’t even the first time that he had been hurt for the sake of another’s ego. It was just the kind of pain that was new. Arrik slowly got onto his hands and knees before he sat back on his haunches, breathing hard.

Kneeling, of all the things, he was kneeling in front of the Supreme Leader. He swallowed and tried to stand, but realized he needed more than a few seconds of rest and fell back down. He decided he would rather kneel than fall.

Above the general, Snoke spread his fingers, glaring down at Kylo Ren.

“What should we do?” the sentient hissed, leaning down. “Say it, Lord Ren, best of my knights.”

“He should remember his place.” Ben felt his heart pounding in his throat. “He should be made to remember the true mission, the true aims of the First Order.” He pressed his mouth for a moment, feeling his lips against his teeth as though they would cut through flesh. “He must re-learn a focus free from distractions.”

Snoke narrowed his eyes and leaned back, gesturing towards Hux again. The general raised his eyes, still breathing hard, his hair falling out of place.

“Show him what it means to focus,” Snoke ordered. His eyes were narrowed on Kylo Ren, and in that second Hux knew that he was going to be hurt again.

It took Ben a few seconds longer to figure out what Snoke meant; it sank into him with bone crushing finality. He had hurt and killed in the name of the First Order, faceless sentients in the Outer Rim who had no names, who meant nothing to him. His anger overrode them and their lives fell away before him. But this was completely different. This was someone whose pain would burn him as well. He nodded jerkily, turning to look down at Arrik kneeling at his side.

He’d never wanted him on his knees like this.

Without speaking, he raised one hand. He couldn’t create Force lightning, and for once, was glad of the gaps in his education. He couldn’t let himself think, but there was real anger fueling him as he drew on the Force. He closed his hand slightly, fingers steady as he visualized Arrik’s body, the muscled lines that created him in smooth shapes. As his hand closed, the muscles in the general’s body all tightened, twisting his body and arching his back, pulling everything too much as though the muscles would break the bones they slid against.

Hux didn’t even look at Kylo Ren, knew that he couldn’t prepare, couldn’t even shut their link down, their shared-ness was too much and this was the punishment. If the Knight didn’t do this, he would be turning Hux into his weakness, he would betray both Arrik and Snoke in one second.

Hux gasped, his back arching again, almost as if his spine would snap, his head almost touching the ground behind him. He was incapable of thought at this point, the pain taking over his entire body, in a way that was very different from the lightning that had sparked across his chest and legs. His body gave out, and he fell to the floor again, back still bent, hand flat on the ground.

His throat was raw already, but the scream that came out was involuntary, ferocious and angry, full of resentment and hurt. He couldn’t even move as Kylo threatened to break his bones and tear his tendons. Within seconds, his limbs were twitching under Kylo’s power.

Kylo Ren felt it reflected back at him, or rather Ben Solo felt it through the opening in his mind’s wall he left for Arrik to communicate with him at any time. He wanted to release him, feeling the slight tears in muscles, the bursting blood vessels he was causing in the other man’s body. But he stood impassive, hand extended and fingers taut.

He needed to be sure that their Supreme Leader knew that Arrik Hux lived or died on his command, and that Kylo Ren took his orders from Snoke, not Hux. Until Snoke told him to let the pain end, it would simply continue.

Hux was gasping on the ground, tears pricking his eyes as he felt his muscles separate from his bones, the individual strands set on fire by something he couldn’t see or comprehend. He screamed again and Snoke finally shifted forwards, gesturing with spindly fingers.

“Enough.”

Kylo Ren dropped his hand to his side, still feeling the tiny hairline fractures that had been forming in Hux’s bones. He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on Hux for another moment before making himself turn away from Hux and raised his face to the Supreme Leader again. The labored sound of the general’s breathing was loud in the room, hoarse and uneven by his feet.

“Your training should be your absolute point, Kylo Ren,” Snoke said, voice stern across systems and galaxies. “Hone your skills, understand your history, and remember that you are part of the entire Universe.” He shifted, glaring at Kylo, “Such distractions are beneath you.”

“Of course, Supreme Leader,” Kylo answered firmly. “My only aim is the furtherance First Order control and its eventual supremacy in the galaxy.” He didn’t look down even as he heard Hux struggling to rise.

“You will be tested soon.” Snoke spoke with an air of prophecy, “See that you have prepared yourself. Hold fast for three days.”

Kylo bowed his head, using the moment to hide the deep breath he had to take before speaking again.

“I will be prepared, Supreme Leader, and will be ready when you call on me again.” He spoke as though they were alone. He understood that in effect, he should always be alone.

“See to it. Reflect on hunger, desire and the difference between needs and wants.” Snoke murmured, sitting back. He looked down at the general, who had abandoned hope of standing, and was back on his hands and knees, head bowed. “See that the General is taken to his berth,” he said, sharp, annoyed and slightly disgusted, knowing that the man in question was still in pain, that his ears were full of static and bright ringing.

When Snoke looked down at Hux, Kylo finally allowed himself to look down as well. Somehow he’d expected the general to still be twisted in pain on the holo pad, wrists and neck at impossible angles. He’d tried to be careful, trying to avoid permanent damage, but he knew that Hux would likely be in some pain for days as bruises worked there way up to his pale skin from deep within his muscles. Without letting his gaze linger too long, he turned back to Snoke as the sentient loomed above them both.

“I will see him delivered,” Kylo Ren agreed with a dismissive nod.

“Three days,” Snoke repeated the order. “I will call you again after your trial.” Then there was nothing, and Snoke disappeared from the holoroom, the lights coming back up to replace the eerie blue glow.

On the ground, Hux pushed himself to kneeling, breathing hard, the burst blood vessels in the whites of his eyes making him seem demonic, his irises even paler, sharper blue. He swallowed and made a movement with a shaking hand towards his cover.

“Get that.”

Kylo leaned down to snatch up Hux’s cover, holding it to him as he crouched beside him. He was surprised by Hux’s eyes, though he knew he shouldn’t have been. He’d known exactly what he was doing to Arrik’s body. While he’d been careful, he hadn’t been overly cautious; anything less than he’d done would have brought up more suspicions and confirmed the ones that were already floating near them.

“Do you need me to carry you? Don’t be proud; be honest,” he admonished quietly.

Arrik licked his lips, carefully folding his cover and then sliding it into his belt. He frowned before he nodded, once.

“I can’t stand on my own,” his voice was shaky, cracked and raw. He swallowed, setting his jaw, trying not to take the pain personally, trying to understand that this wasn’t because of him, it was just another game that Snoke was playing.

Kylo nodded once, determined not to draw any of this out. Guilt made his skin prickle beneath his heavy jacket as he shifted to get beside Hux and put an arm around his body. He could feel the tension and trembling that was still running through the general’s muscles. He couldn’t tell which effects were the ones that would stay, those from Snoke’s Force lightning (a dark side skill he’d definitely read about but had definitely never seen in person before) or those from the torture he’d put Hux’s body through.

“Come on, let’s get you up and see where to go from there.” He wasn’t convinced the general would even be able to stay conscious on his feet, even with help. Kylo slowly pulled him upright, taking all of Hux’s weight as he balanced him.

Hux did his best to stand, but even with Kylo’s arm around him, taking most of the pressure off him, he found it hard to keep his feet under him.

“Stars on fire,” Hux cursed, nearly spitting, “I won’t let you be the death of me.”

“If I’d been trying,” Kylo muttered, “You’d have been dead within the first minute. Take it slow, sweet cheeks; your muscles are exactly thrilled with you at the moment.”

“I’m not exactly thrilled with you,” Hux grumbled, taking a deep breath, holding onto Kylo. He could say with some honesty that he didn’t resent or blame Kylo for what he had done under Snoke’s orders. It was imperative that he walk this line.

His arm was around the other man’s shoulders, and he stopped suddenly, gripping Kylo’s upper arm tightly. “I can’t be seen like this.”

Kylo raised his eyebrows as he turned his head to look at the other man. Hux’s pride was the largest thing on this ship, no question.

“You’ll likely be seen, but you won’t be remembered. Come on. I’m allowing you a little bit of dignity by pretending you’ll be able to walk the whole way. Let’s get started before you give out right here and now.” He shifted his grip on Hux’s waist and stepped forward.

Hux made a noise like a growl and let Kylo guide him. He didn’t resist, and focused on putting one step in front of the other. They retrieved his pad, and as they made their way to the lift, Hux’s face became paler and paler, bloodless under the struggle to keep his body moving.

Kylo Ren already anticipated the general going down, but he knew better than anyone the importance of keeping your feet when you were determined to be the man you imagined yourself to be in your head.

“Maybe next time,” Hux said through gritted teeth, already annoyed with himself, “you’ll learn to hold your tongue.”

“I hadn’t thought bodily injury was balancing on the use of pronouns,” Kylo argued immediately. “I, we, what does it matter? We’re both on the ship, we obviously work together. It proves nothing!”

«It means we’re familiar, Ren.» His throat hurt too much, and his mind hadn’t been raked over hot coals, just his body. He swallowed, and ignored the slight headache, blaming it on the induced concussion he surely had. «Something the Supreme Leader won’t stand for.»

Kylo Ren made an annoyed sound and pulled Hux up against his side when the man slipped a little too much to make walking tenable. «I guess we shouldn’t get those matching tattoos after all.»

«Gods, you’re insufferable.» Hux was getting more touchy as his body became weaker. He had done nothing to deserve this and yet here he was at the mercy of Kylo Ren, by the Knight’s own hand.

«I know. I know you love it.» He spoke aloud to try to give the general more encouragement. “Just one more lift and the Officers’ corridor, and we’re there.”

Hux made a noise in the back of his throat, and it was something like a warning. A few officers came out of the lift they were headed into and Hux’s anxiety spiked.

Kylo continued the slow pace he’d been trying to maintain smoothly as they walked, ignoring the small group of officers until they were close enough to show both curiosity and concern. Before any of them could speak, the Knight had raised his hand.

“The general is obviously tired after his extended shift on the bridge. You’re proud to serve under a man like him, and you’d best get to your stations.”

Hux didn’t relax, but his grip on Ben’s shoulder faltered for a few seconds. He took a deep breath as they continued walking, and once they were on the lift, Hux leaned more heavily against Kylo, his face splotchy.

«Ren…» His heartbeat was fluttering, he felt himself slipping out of consciousness, fighting to stay awake. His body was shutting down, even as his mind tried to keep himself awake.

“Mother of Kw’ath,” Kylo muttered, not even realizing how much more ridiculous the curse sounded through his vocoder. He took a deep breath and bent his knees slightly so he could pick the general up completely.

Hux couldn’t bring himself to make a noise, to say anything either over their link or out loud. He frowned and couldn’t bring himself to protest. He hated this, and he couldn’t do anything, his body had been put through something no body should be put through.

And then, nothing responded and his mind shut down, and he fell unconscious in Ren’s arms.

The resulting limp frame was actually easier to carry through the final hallway to the Commander’s wing. He wasn’t sure if breaking the door on Hux’s berth would be allowable twice, so he carried the general into his own rooms and set him on the bed. He stood looking down at him for a minute and took in how unnaturally pale he was, verging on grey. The Knight sighed to himself. He would have taken that pain himself, and he knew that was part of the problem, no matter what their future plans were. How could he open himself up fully to use the power of the dark side of the Force if the light always held him back, made him hesitate, made him help?

Cursing himself and his weakness, he leaned down to pull Hux’s boots off, then undid his belt and dropped it so the floor with his carefully-recovered cover. He undid the first few clasps of Hux’s stiff jacket, then stepped back to take his helmet off. Everything was a test, and he should have known that by now. He set the helmet on the chair by the wall, glancing at his grandfather’s helmet in its stand.

“Damn me,” he muttered as he turned away and walked back to the main room to sit on the sofa that remained one of his only pieces of the room’s original furniture. He picked up his datapad and flipped through the apps he’d had open, pulling up a historical document that related legends of the rise of Moraband.

Guilt gnawed at the edges of his consciousness as he attempted to read, and where guilt left off, exhaustion drew in closer. After several failed hours of concentration, Kylo Ren fell asleep as he was, sitting up with his head lolled onto his shoulder.

Hux woke up after a rotation, sore and aching. His entire body felt like it was on fire, like every nerve had been frayed to a blistering end. He cursed again and answered his wrist comm, and then slid off the bed, briefly annoyed that his boots were on the other side of the room.

«Ren?» Hux ventured, looking around at the two helmets, the books scattered around the room.

In the outer room, Kylo stirred slightly before jerking his head upright. The stiff muscles in the side of his neck immediately protested and he rubbed them appraisingly as he frowned toward the bedroom doorway.

«Are you alive in there?» he asked sardonically, leaning forward to set the datapad down before standing up and running his hands through his hair.

«Am I going to be sick if I stand up?»

Rolling his eyes, Kylo headed toward his bedroom. «You’re in a much better position to answer that than I am, sweet cheeks.»

Hux groaned, leaning forward, hands clenched in the black sheets of the bed. He closed his eyes, and slowly got his feet under him, standing up. He put his hand out on one of the wall shelves, displacing a few books. He closed his eyes tightly. «Shit.»

Kylo walked in to see the general standing up and quickly moved over to put a steadying hand on his waist. That was all he needed right now, General Hux faceplanting in his bedroom and cracking his forehead open on the edge of his desk or a shelf.

“Easy there. Where’s the fire?” He guided him back the few steps to sit on the edge of the bed again, then gently pushed his fingers through the hair at Hux’s temple.

Hux almost flinched when Kylo touched him. He swallowed and let Ben sit him down again, eyes still closed. He turned his head and let Kylo touch his hair, didn’t respond to it.

«I have a ship to run.» He said, his throat aching, and he didn’t both speaking aloud, knowing that it would just aggravate himself further. He’d have to strain on the bridge, in meetings, he wasn’t about to do it now. «I need to get back to the bridge, my office.»

“It’s going to be a challenge for me to catch you all over the ship,” Kylo said aloud to put more meaning behind his words for Hux, to showcase that speaking aloud was a necessity if Hux was going to carry out those duties. “Why don’t you eat something and then we’ll talk. I’ll drop you in your berth, if you want?”

Hux wasn’t entirely sure if Kylo’s kindness was something he could handle right now. It was easier when he was sharp edges and sneers. He swallowed and nodded.

“Tea, honey,” he croaked, and was immediately furious. He set his jaw, flushed and glared at Kylo Ren. «This is embarrassing enough, I don’t need any more cheek.»

«You know I have plenty of that to spare. Stay there. Rest. I’ll bring you tea.» Kylo Ren touched his hair again as though to prove to himself what he’d done meant nothing, that they were playing an elaborate game that would only make them stronger in adversity.

Hux closed his eyes, but didn’t flinch away as Kylo touched him again. He sighed as Ren left and sent another message to Mitaka. This was becoming a terrible habit, allowing himself to be hurt by Kylo Ren and his antics, by Snoke and his desperate grabs at manipulation. It was only a small comfort to his ego that at least Snoke’s ploys hadn’t done anything to dampen their connection.

«Something smokey, dark.»

«I already said there was plenty of me. What sort of tea do you want?» He’d already ordered it up through Kit, the app recording what tea the general had wanted in the past.

«Is this your way of apologizing?» Hux snapped, in no mood to indulge Kylo Ren.

“What am I apologizing for?” Kylo asked as he walked back into the room, jaw a little tighter. “Saving both our lives? Do you think I enjoyed hurting you like that? I could have snapped your back, with just a little less concentration.”

Hux was still glaring at the ground. He was being defensive and aggressive on purpose, and pettiness was not a good look on him. Even as he hurt to move, to even blink or look up at Kylo Ren, he knew that the man had done what both he and Snoke had asked of him. Hux knew that he was too valuable to be tossed aside like a pawn in a chess match, but that wouldn't stop Snoke from giving him lesser station, perhaps even reassigning Star Killer.

The general swallowed and shook his head. This was low, even for a man like Snoke.

«I know that.» He said, with some restraint, annoyed and frustrated and knowing better than to take it out on Kylo. Gods, he wanted to shoot something. He wanted to kill something.

“So you’ll hurt today. And tomorrow. And...well, likely the day after.” Kylo walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at the top of Hux’s head, his hair mussed with his pained writhing and restless sleep. “But the test is over and passed. Which isn’t to say there won’t be another. But this one, we passed.”

«You passed.» Hux’s mind was vicious, biting, and even he couldn’t curb his tone. He was exhausted, tortured, and reminded again of how weak he was compared to beings like Snoke and Kylo Ren. «I suffered.»

Kylo Ren was too quick to avoid as he snatched Hux’s chin and pulled his face up to look at him. Ren’s eyes were dark and intense and dangerous still.

«As though you’ve never grown stronger through suffering before. As though that’s never made a revenge sweeter for you. If you want to hurt me, go on. Hit me. If you want to wait until you have your strength back, fine, hit me then. I promise you the Supreme Leader won’t forget my transgressions. You passed. My real trial is still coming. You’re released. I have yet to be punished.» Kylo Ren pressed his mouth as he let go of the other man’s jaw.

Hux’s whole body went tight and stiff as Kylo touched him. His eyes narrowed and he jerked back, almost as soon as the Knight let go of him.

«You don’t get to throw my past in my face,» he said, licking his lips. His throat was still sore, it hurt to even breathe, it hurt to sit up, it hurt to simply exist in the presence of Kylo Ren. «That sort of…» He couldn’t say it, that sort of hurt, helplessness, loss, it was supposed to stay in the past. It wasn’t supposed to happen now that he had come so far, worked so hard.

He should have known better. There were always stronger men. It stung, and Hux knew that he deserved more than that.

Kylo Ren watched him without a helmet to hide his expression. He sighed softly, mouth relaxing as he watched the other man.

«It’s true. There are always stronger men.» He swallowed, feeling the sunken eyes of his grandfather’s mask on his back as he knelt down in front of Hux. «That is why we always aim higher still.»

Hux swallowed, watching Kylo Ren sink down to his knees. He didn’t know quite how to speak to him, exactly what to say. He shifted a little closer to Kylo, putting a hand in his dark hair.

Kylo found himself breathing harder as though he’d been training, running, fighting, choking. There were tiny tremors in the general’s fingers that Hux himself probably couldn’t feel with his nerve endings so raw. He’d caused that, as well as the red in his eyes. His fantasies of hurting Arrik had never been like that. He wanted to hunt him down, take him down while Arrik tried to subdue him first. This was nothing like he wanted.

«I know what it feels like. What you feel like, right now,» he whispered into his head finally.

Hux frowned deeply, leaning down, threading both hands into Kylo’s hair. He felt the heat around them, the dark jungle curling over them. He didn’t argue, he knew that Kylo was telling the truth, that he had been through this, felt this. The dark room was a blessing, Kylo couldn’t see how pale Hux really was, how the bruises were already forming near his joints, around his knuckles.

«No one ever sees, under three layers of black clothes. Even in the training camp.» Kylo’s mental voice was gentle, almost caressing, as he murmured silently to only Arrik. «You’ll notice the discoloration on your hands first, then your ankles. You’ll feel the bruises on your lower back, but how do you even see those? After a few days, the aches that are deeper will make themselves known. You’ll cough, especially in the morning, and your ribs will feel too tight. And all the while your hands will feel hot and then cold as you watch the bruises go from blue to green to yellow.»

Hux’s hands slid back, one curled around Kylo’s neck. He pulled the knight forward, wanting him close, wanting him to speak, to hear him.

«My eyes?» He asked, shifting slightly to pull back, pulling his gloves off and putting his bare hands against Kylo’s head again, cradling him gently. «When will I be able to look around without seeing red?»

Kylo moved forward, still on his knees before the man he’d tortured. «Give them a week for the blood to re-absorb. Maybe a bacta bandage to put over them? That might help.» He shrugged, concentrating on the sensation of fingers moving through his hair. «That was the impossible thing to hide before I had my helmet.»

«I’ll look like I’ve had a concussion.» Hux’s voice was soft, not harsh in their shared space. With Kylo this close, he didn’t feel as defensive. With Kylo on his knees, he didn’t feel the need to maintain his walls, he dropped the pride he wore around his shoulders.

«How often did this happen to you?» Why, Hux asked without asking. Why this, what purpose did it serve?

«Often enough. When the fires of your rage dampen with time and distance, pain always rouses the flames again.» The pain lasted for days when Ben Solo pushed himself through training, remembering that he had to be the best, then had to remain the best, and the pain seemed overwhelming right when he woke up and when he fell into bed at night on his small cot. Kylo slid his hands over Hux’s knees, then rested them on his thighs as he considered. «Do you want to see?»

Hux nodded, enjoying their closeness without even being truly conscious of the depths of it. Kylo Ren focused him. There were no distractions here. The young knight held the potential of the entire universe, and he held it out to Hux. How could Arrik not use the man as a beacon, a bright burning star in the dark. Kylo would bring order, Arrik would bring order.

«Show me, Kylo.» He said, and this time it was an order. «I want to know.»

Kylo Ren took a deep breath, hands tightening on Hux’s thighs. It could only hurt the man to show him; there was no way to share and leave the pain out of it. From the outside, no one else had seen his pain either; even other people, had they been in the room with him, wouldn’t have been able to see what was going on inside him.

«I can’t promise this won’t give you some pain,» he warned Hux as he closed his eyes. «Actual pain, not simply sympathy.»

«I’m ready.» Hux murmured, softly, leaning down a little more, his frame over Kylo Ren’s. «I want to know.»

Without speaking again, Kylo lowered his walls and let memories out like tendrils, vivid and too clear; they lacked the fuzzy distance that memories usually had even after only a short time. They started with a cool, dark room, seemingly more so away from the blinding sun and heat outside. It was damp, as everything was on the nameless planet. Kylo knew he could only share flashes of it, so he started with the physical pain because it was easier. Recognizable after what Hux had been through.

He let Arrik know his pain, though he tried to keep the actual pain from him, just allowing it to resonate in the muscles that the general already felt tightening, torn, bruising. The Supreme Leader’s voice above him, ordering him to get up, to fight his way to his knees to be struck down again. The agony of it when he finally was able to battle past the torture and strain his body against what was being done to it, the moment of getting to his feet when his entire body was trying to pull him down to writhe on the floor.

Kylo opened his eyes to watch Arrik’s as he knelt up again, nodding slightly. «That was part of it. The physical part. You see what I learned.»

Hux shuddered over Kylo, not trying to hold him too tight but unable to pull away. He opened his eyes to meet Kylo’s and nodded, eyebrows furrowed.

«That’s how your force works?» He asked, running his thumb over Kylo’s temple. «Pain, emotion, hurt.»

«This side of it.» Kylo swallowed, eyelashes almost trembling as Hux touched the skin near them. «I can show you that too. Not the physical side of it. The rest. I don’t know what it’ll feel like to you.»

Hux nodded, intense, focused on Kylo Ren. «Show me. Try.»

At first, the room seemed to darken as though the lights had suddenly been cut. Then there were faint impressions of light, the idea of illumination but still darkness that was depthless but moving past their faces, pulling at them like wind. The darkness was not peaceful; it roared somewhere inside the ears, rattling to break tiny bones and pierce eardrums with an almost sentient pressure. It tugged and pulled, the dark side, but there was a barrier around them that stopped the pulling from yanking them away from center. There was brightness at the core of him, of Ben Solo, and it covered so many things, memories and feelings, most of which strengthened the light, with the ones that didn’t pushed down far beneath.

All at once, it was like a curved claw cut down the center of his chest, snapping through the ribs at the left side of his sternum and pushing them open like a book. As though that wasn’t enough, it tore again at the inside of him, tore at the lightness and ripped through the protection. Like a maelstrom, the hidden memories swirled up and reversed the pull of the darkness. His uncle’s trouble expression when he realized his nephew was made up of a series of unanswerable questions. His father’s disappointment when Ben was sent from Hosnian Prime after one destructive incident too many and was suddenly his problem, his burden, no matter how he patted his son’s shoulder and told him they’d have a great time together. Leia’s face toward him on the call, while her eyes darted back to the datapad again and again, eager to fix the problems of everyone else in the entire galaxy except her own son. _You’ll just have to work through it on your own._

The anger and sadness were more than physical pain and the darkness was drawn to them. His chest was an open storm with dark memories pushing their way out and the darkness around pouring in. It was like being burned, being consumed, but never dying. Being helpless in the middle of unfathomable power before finally reaching out and grabbing his own ribs to draw them closed.

Leaning over Hux’s legs, Kylo Ren panted for breath in the aftermath of his own memory.

Hux could only bear the intensity because of the distance, the fact that Kylo Ren revealed all of this a few steps away. They were still connected, close, same, but it was different, and the general let Kylo go uninterrupted. The man before him was an open wound, an expanse of space that covered more and more with each breath, second, half-second. Hux felt like he was watching the stars come up as the memories lit up the vacuum around them.

They were the only two static points in the universe, and memories swirled around them, creating meteor showers and ice rings that shadowed the _Finalizer_. Hux pulled Ren closer, kept his arm over his back, one hand in his hair.

It seemed too personal to comment on, above reproach. He swallowed, leaning down over Kylo Ren, pulling on his hair.

«You are a confusion,» Hux sighed, relaxing his grip for a few seconds before tightening it again. «How do you live with such disorder?»

Kylo Ren’s eyes were tightly closed as the room grew up around him again. Sometimes it was hard to come up; he could feel the power tingling in his arms as though he was suddenly full of electricity.

«It’s not disorder,» he said with vehemence leftover from his memories. «It is my becoming.» He swallowed to push it all back down, the urge to strike out without reason, to hurt without cause. Hux’s hand in his hair was an anchor, his short fingernails grazing against his scalp when he pushed his fingers deeply into the mess his helmet made of it.

«You’re a maelstrom,» Hux’s voice was soft, murmured, teasing. He pulled Kylo closer, against himself, deeper into the v of his legs. He didn’t send any thoughts or images over, just created a stronger space, a more tightly wound closeness.

«I probably should have foreclosed that before you agreed to take me on board,» Kylo Ren murmured, thinking back to Hux’s stiff back when he sat on his cot on the _Millennium Falcon_ , how he could never have imagined this moment. It was a different lifetime. He should finish that salvaged piece of garbage from Tyrakos, though when would he ever been on his ship to replace that coupler ever again?

Hux hummed aloud, tugging on Kylo’s hair again. He took a deep breath, and his throat ached.

«I need to return to my office today. With or without my voice.»

«At least have…» He turned his head before the door opened for the droid bringing in the tray of tea and porridge. «That first.» He gestured as he knelt up, still tired enough to make standing more of an effort than it should have been.

«I’d call this mothering, but I’m not sure if you’d take it as an insult or a compliment,» Hux said, standing and taking the tea from the droid. He ignored the breakfast and looked around, pulling on his gloves and finding his greatcoat and boots against a wall. He got ready to leave quickly, annoyed that he didn’t have his holopad. He was sure that there was a backlog. A flash of annoyance shot through him, he really had to stop making a habit of disappearing like this.

While the general prepared himself to leave, Kylo stood still and watched him, expressionless even without his helmet. He still felt slightly raw after sharing those brief things with Hux, still feeling his ribcage ready to fly open at any moment.

“If you collapse on the bridge, I’ll be sure to tell them it’s simply sexual exhaustion,” he said as he stepped back from the door, following Hux out into the main room.

Hux snorted, and his sharp remark died in his mind as he saw the expression on Kylo Ren’s face. They might not have walked in the past through Ren’s mind, but the flashes of memories were jagged edges along the man’s soul, tearing at him with each breath. He nodded, let the knight have his amusement and then finished his tea, wincing.

«I would like to know more.» He said, standing like a guard at the berth’s exit, back rod-straight. «If you would be willing to give me an education on the ways of the Force, how you understand and use it, I would appreciate it.»

Kylo Ren stood with his shoulders slightly rounded, the strength of his stance in his lower back and the way he stood with his feet apart as though prepared for a fight at any second. How much of it could Hux ever really understand? The man likely hadn’t even really believed in the Force before meeting him, and now it had moved from faith to destructive reality.

«I can teach you some of what I’ve learned. I know you’re a man who appreciates history,» he said finally, for one of the first times in his life wishing for the helmet to mask his face. «For the rest, I don’t know how much of it you could stand.» He imagined, for a second, Arrik as a Force wielder, suddenly having that power in his hands and understanding instinctively the pull that often became a tear inside of him.

«History is enough,» Hux said, feeling the shock around his fingers, knowing what Ben had imagined. «Your experiences are enough. I don’t need to be in your head.» He smirked slightly, opening the doors. «At least, not any more than I already am.»

He raised a hand as he left, still walking slowly, “Rest,” he said, voice hoarse. “We have work to do.”

He stood without moving, watching the general leave and then the doors close behind him. How many people would he tear apart to put the galaxy to order again? Kylo Ren could smell his own sweat and it was tainted by fear. Making a disgusted noise, he turned and walked back through his rooms to the refresher, though he wasn’t sure if he was a thing that could be cleaned any more.

* * *

The General and Kylo Ren had some sort of strange peace after that. Hux kept away from him during his fast, feeling the annoyance and anger through their closeness. Although they couldn’t stay apart for long, and as an urgent report pinged onto his screen he knew he had to reach out.

Hux was at his desk just under the bridge when he sent a message to Ren, first through the Tower system and then through their direct line.

«My office, now.»

Hux’s voice was always sharp in his head, and Kylo Ren wasn’t sure yet if that was intentional or if he couldn’t control his silent voice yet and this was just how he came through. He opened his eyes slowly; he wasn’t the best at meditation at the best of times, and with the general’s insistent call, he knew that this session was over. He considered ignoring him, but it was a brief, very brief, consideration. If he ignored the man, he’d just call for him again. Louder.

«Why?» He was tired from training, weaker from the fast imposed on him by the Supreme Leader. At first he’d felt it make him slower and less agile, but while he was exhausted now, he also felt keener, sharper, more dangerous, and slightly feral. That was the best word for it. In the metal cage of the ship, he felt wild and slightly claustrophobic, no matter how high the ceilings or wide the windows.

«I have an urgent need,» Hux muttered, looking through the report. «I’m sending out a TIE squadron,» he explained, standing up. «I’d like you to be the paramount.»

Ben’s first reaction was to make a snide comment about the general’s urgent need. But Kylo Ren was too tired for that type of foolishness, even as he swallowed down the spike of adrenaline. «You have many able TIE pilots, general.»

«I don’t have time to waste.» Hux’s annoyance probably shot through their link, bright and so acrid Hux could almost taste it. «Say something now or find yourself reading the report of the aftermath instead of flying it.»

He had his finger over the assignment dossier, all the pilots and even his second choice of paramount ready for the order to leave the bay. All waiting for Ren.

Kylo Ren growled aloud and pushed himself up to standing so quickly his vision darkened around the edges. Was it the best or most responsible choice to head into this situation? Not at all. But he had not forgotten the rushing pleasure of controlling that type of speed, of the responsiveness of the control, of the scream around him of the twin ion engines.

«Which kriffing hangar?» he asked in a milder, controlled voice.

«West, Hangar 3. The new Intervention TIE squadron.» Hux quickly adjusted the orders, putting Ren at the head of the mission, leaving his office for the bridge. «A cargo ship has intercepted information regarding their own eminent attack. They need escort until they’re in the regulation hyperspace lane.»

He got to the bridge, ordering that the starboard panel switch to the hangar view. He took a deep breath and sent a message to Ren again. «Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.»

Kylo Ren strode down toward the hangar, nearly knocking several officers out of the way. He doubted he had his own flight suit here anymore, and even if it was still somewhere with the name ‘B. Solo’ marked on it somewhere, he was not build the way he had been. He had broadened and been chiseled lean, the padawan’s life that had begun him and the smuggler’s life that had shaped him had been so different from the Knight’s life that had finished him. He would need to find something.

«What am I going to wear? Have you prepared anything?»

«Of course,» Hux responded quickly, looking over the Intervention squad. The TIE’s were gorgeous, expertly crafted from the old Aggressors, given sharp lines along the wings and fitted with hyperdrive rings that allowed the TIEs to jump through time and space to points of aggression.

«You have a modified flight suit and helmet in the hangar. You have an appointed TIE, you’ll find everything in the waiting bay just behind the docking area.»

«You could always just show me,» Kylo growled, but he was already halfway there and knew, logically, that the general couldn’t leave the bridge without good reason as they headed into a situation like this.

The bay crew didn’t seem at all surprised to see him, ushering over to an area where he could change. Bant briefed him on what was going on; there was no recognition in her face when she looked over his helmet. He felt no familiarity from her, only slight fear and excitement. Despite their intimate time together, she had no idea that Kylo Ren had anything to do with Ben Solo.

Exchanging helmets felt strange, though the act of wearing one had become more natural to him than letting himself feel air on his face. When he walked into the TIE bay, the rest of the crew was waiting for him. This was not the type of leadership he was accustomed to. He didn’t feel for these people instinctively; they didn’t know how to act toward him. He couldn’t just expect to hear them in his head to communicate. They would depend on tech, like most people throughout the galaxy did.

One of the pilots stepped forward, offering her hand to Kylo Ren. They all had their helmets on, indistinguishable except for the epaulets on their arms denoting rank. “I’m afraid we don’t have time for proper introductions—” already the warning sign for the Interceptor’s departure was blaring above them. “We’re the TL- pilot trooper unit, and honored to serve under you, Lord Ren.”

Kylo clasped her hand briefly and nodded to her, glancing around at the rest of the pilots. They stood with easy grace and camaraderie, confidence in their own position and abilities evident in their posture and the mood they exuded. The only nerves they had were coming from the fact that he was there. He knew that he was something other, a mysterious, unknowable presence who they were suddenly being asked to trust and obey, though he was without true rank or position within the Order.

“General Hux speaks highly of your prowess, and we’ll see it put to the test now,” he said and was mildly surprised to hear the voice that had become Kylo Ren’s, rather than the voice he still heard himself. The helmet must have been fitted with a vocoder to match his Knight helmet.

“Thank you sir,” she said, inclining her head slightly. “Our callsigns will be available on your TIE computer, it’ll help. I’ll be your second, I go by Sun.” She glanced around and nodded, and the squadron saluted. “If you have any orders, now’s the time.” She was excited and anxious, wanted to get in her vehicle and leave immediately. Waiting on a new leader was a little frustrating since she would have usually taken command of the squad, but Ren outranked her somehow, and it was for the good of the Order. The delay was her only real annoyance.

“In the case of engagement, which seems more than likely, do not allow any ships to escape.” Sometimes even he was surprised by how cold his orders could be, things he would have never considered saying before now. Maybe even before this moment. “Republic ships follow tight formations. You’ll do better by getting them split up and breaking them apart that way.”

Underneath her pilot helmet, Sun grinned.

“We can do that.”

The Intervention TIEs were sharper, based on the Aggressors with their tapered wingtips and gunner port in back. They weren’t quite as round, but they were each outfitted with hyperspace rings. The squadron, with Kylo Ren at its head, left the hangar, engaged the rings, and shot off towards the stranded shuttle.

They left their docking rings at the edge of the hyperlane, protected by strong shields and ship-recog software, and the IVs shot off towards the smaller shipping channel. They were pre-empting an attack, but it was barely ten minutes into their flight towards the First Order shuttle _Midion_ when the ship sent out a distress signal.

As a single unit, the IV squad shot towards the _Midion_ , and they were met with a set of six ships, Y and X-wings painted with Resistance colors, ancient-looking holdovers from the Rebel Alliance ships that had seen better days. Sun grinned, hands around the controls, her dark brown eyes wide and absorbing all the data as it came in through her headset.

Kylo Ren had feared that time away from a TIE cockpit would have dulled his abilities, but his keener sense of the Force enhanced his flight. The squadron he’d been given were sharp and experienced; Hux had known what he was doing when he’d put them together. Rather than slavishly looking to him for instruction, they followed him without him needing to say anything other than give basic instructions. The responses of the controls were fast enough to let him keep up with his own instincts.

The first Resistance ship he shot down, he felt the deaths in the center of his chest and, for a second, he couldn’t breathe. It was a sharp thing, a sudden winking out that he thought he’d grown used to. The ship exploded like the fireworks over the Senate building on Hosnian Prime, reds and yellows and blacks that were swallowed up by the inky expanse waiting to take the rest of them. There was no cheering through the comm link; First Order pilots were quiet, stoic creatures. They didn’t celebrate victories, they expected them.

The IV’s surrounded the Midion, but never circled the ship. They worked as a unit, darting in, dropping out from behind each other, Sun and her squad communicating in sharp, direct commands. Any ego that the pilots may have carried on board the _Finalizer_ disappeared as they adjusted and flew together, taking commands and orders not just from Kylo Ren, but from each other.

Kylo Ren found it his job to use the openings they made, or plug the holes that he felt rather than saw in their formations. Sun especially was an excellent pilot; whether she’d been doing this most of her life or was just a natural, her handling of the ship made her a force to be reckoned with even without the rest of her squadron. Their opponents were skilled pilots as well, but he found that made him enjoy the game more. Their X- wings were good enough, for what they were, but they couldn’t match the speed of the IVs, especially out in deep space.

In pursuit of one of the aggressors, he felt it out for the game it really was. The TIE rolled above the X-wing to overtake it and dodge below it when it fired at him. He dove down then turned and came back up above it, firing down at the cockpit with a viciousness that was unnecessary to the fight. The Knight sped away to engage a ship that two of the other IVs were fighting. The Resistance pilot must have faced TIEs before, he thought as he watched the ship maneuver. He knew where their speed betrayed them, the large chance that they would overshoot a target. The X-wing got a shot on the TIE and Kylo Ren could almost feel the pilot’s surprise and hesitation; the shield around the central portion of the IV deflected the blaster. The hesitation was fatal. The Resistance pilot was definitely a pilot from the old days and had expected that shot to tear the TIE apart. But the Empire had held its TIE pilots as disposable commodities, along with their ships, and had never had shields placed on them. The First Order’s TIE pilots were their elite, and they didn’t have a fleet large enough to hold cheaply.

Kylo Ren didn’t hesitate a second as he barked into Sun’s head, «Fire!»

Sun couldn’t tell the difference between her own instinct and Kylo Ren’s soundless order, but she took the shot in the milliseconds before her navtech told her the X-wing was in her laser’s sight.

With the last member of the attacking Resistance ships destroyed, the IV TIEs set off after the _Midion_ , which had finally diverted energy from shields to their engines. She let out of a breath out, pulling up, twisting away, looking around. She scrambled to call into Kylo Ren’s personal link.

“Sir, what just happened?”

“There are several fighters left, thought at a distance,” he informed her, ignoring her question. It wasn’t time to get into what just happened with someone who had likely never seen a display of the Force in her entire life. “Tell the others to remain with the _Midion_ while we finish the fight. I want no survivors”

“Yes, Lord Ren,” she replied, and quickly paused their communications. Sun sent the rest of the TIEs back to the shuttle and quickly fell into line next to Kylo Ren. “My sensors aren’t picking up any more pointers. I’m on your system.”

“They’re waiting for their fighters to draw the _Midion_ back toward sector 4.32.0.” He didn’t bother telling her how he knew, how he felt them, their anticipation. Their self-righteous excitement as they stepped a bit outside their jurisdiction. “You and I will see this is over now.”

“Understood, Lord Ren,” she affirmed, staying close to his fighter.

There was no need to answer. He kept their communications brief, clipped, and verbal. The Resistance ships weren’t expecting First Order backup to come for them, and the fight was over faster than he’d thought. He hesitated to say faster than he’d hoped. But after taking down the first ship, whatever that had been that tasted like regret against his teeth was gone, replaced by the thrill of the hunt, the shot, the kill.

Sun spun away from the final bolt fired from the last wishbone, sneaking her own shot underneath the Y-wing’s shields, outmaneuvering them easily, almost effortlessly. She looked around and flew back, next to Kylo Ren’s TIE.

“I have no more ships on my scanner, sir.”

“Then let’s head back to the rendezvous point and escort the _Midion_ back to the _Finalizer_ for repairs.” He knew she’d done an excellent job, and everything in Ben Solo wanted to praise her. But Kylo Ren didn’t praise; he expected excellence to surround him, and even then, how often could it match what he could do without effort. Still, she’d done an excellent job. “I hope that in future, your squad is ready should I call on you.”

“Of course, sir.” Sun’s answer was immediate. She was a high pilot of the First Order, and she was at the Lord Ren’s command.

They rejoined the small fleet of five, and docked into their rings, the Intervention squad forming their own wide circle around the _Midion_. Two of the ringed TIEs shot into hyperspace, followed by the shuttle, and the remaining TIEs engaged their own rings in pairs until nothing was left behind but the scattered debris of Resistance ships.

Kylo Ren strode down the long walkway on the bridge of the _Finalizer_ , knowing those shoulders, that rigid back, the tension in the thighs of the man who stood facing outward as though still watching battles that were happening past the viewscreen. It was difficult not to walk up behind him and grab his shoulders to pull him back, or to shove him forward, off balance, to force him to brace his hands against the screen while he pressed up against his back. Feeling the life in front of him that pulsed Arrik, he felt like the battle wasn’t over, his quarry wasn’t caught. He could imagine the puff of the general’s breath against the transparent screen, the taut line of his back inside his uniform as he tried to prevent himself being forced forward, the bulge of his erection forced against the unyielding material of his pants.

The helmet hid it all, as it always did.

“General,” he said when he was a meter behind him. “You’ll find your shipment intact.”

It was so apparent, his need so obvious, that Arrik Hux felt it even as the man approached from across the stars-damned ship. The general turned to look over Kylo Ren, and felt a sharp flare of annoyance at the sight of the mask, felt that draw, felt as if the entire kriffing bridge knew. They knew, they had to, who could look at Kylo Ren and not know?

“I need a full report,” he said smartly, hands clasped tight behind his his back. He brushed by Ren and was thrown by the impulsive desire to push the man to the ground and rip his helmet off, to shove his fingers into his mouth, to pull on his hair and turn his head so that he gagged when he opened his mouth to suck Arrik’s dick. “My office.”

General Hux pushed past Kylo Ren, not looking at him, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He walked with his back straight, his elbows locked. The emotions flooded him, everything that Kylo felt suddenly became what he felt. The thrill of the chase, the hunt, the kill, the returning victor, the man who comes to claim his own.

Not quite.

Arrik Hux was not a man who would allow himself to be so easily taken. They turned a corner and didn’t have to walk far until Hux opened the door to his office, going in before Kylo, refusing to speak.

Kylo Ren walked in behind the general, with his hands in loose fists by his sides. He hadn’t changed his pace to walk with the other man, letting Hux put some distance between them and walking into the office with his long strides. He found himself watching Hux’s back again

Hux shut the door and turned back to Kylo Ren, glaring.

«Take that thing off.»

«Why? It’s my right as a warrior to wear it.» He felt combative. He felt as though he had sharp teeth.

«You sound ridiculous,» Hux snapped, still standing only a few feet in front of the door, hands clenched behind his back. “I can feel you, Ren, you’re crawling,” he sneered, pushing down a shiver.

“I thought you wanted a report of the fight, general,” the Knight said, voice coming through the vocoder emotionless and dry. It seemed impossible to him that it could when the fire was burning itself out of his chest. “Though wouldn’t Sun be more suited to writing something that would conform to First Order standards?”

“I can’t concentrate when you’re like this.” Hux growled, furious and finding himself wanting, needy, utterly without restraint. He wanted to shove Kylo Ren against the bay windows, he wanted to draw blood down his chest. He wanted to fuck the man until he had tears down his face, wanted to take off his gloves and stuff them into Kylo’s mouth like a gag.

“Say something!” Hux demanded, still glaring at Ren.

The images shot past in flashes of light and the monochromatic scheme that was their world and this ship, uniforms and helmets. Kylo Ren smiled wolfishly behind his mask; _someday_ , he mused, _I should teach him how to guard those thoughts_.

“You can’t concentrate, general?”

“Get out,” Hux hissed, hands clenched by his sides, some of his composure lost in the fray. Whatever kind of fight they were waging against each other he was not coming out the victor, and the thought alone was intolerable.

Hux’s loss of control was amusing to Kylo suddenly; it got his blood up more, made the general more appealing, with his cheeks flushed in the strange office lighting. He stalked forward with measured steps, taking a deep breath and letting his power inhale as well, filling the room.

“Don’t you need your report?” he asked quietly, reaching up to unlatch his helmet and pull it off his head. His hair was coming loose from its long braid and was more of a tangle than plait.

Hux swallowed, unmoving.

“You’re doing this on purpose, and I won’t have it.” His voice was low, almost a growl, and he despised Kylo Ren in those seconds, wanted him on the floor, on his knees, wanted him running away after a shot disabled his arm.

“What am I doing? I’ve come back to report victory.” Kylo Ren raised his chin slightly. “Come here.”

“You will not order me around on my own ship!” Hux’s voice rose, his eyes narrowed to sharp points. “I’ve allowed myself liberties with you that have obviously affected your judgement. I know you, Kylo Ren, and I refuse to be played with. If this is how all Force users act after a successful mission the Knights of Ren must live in a den of baseness and iniquity.”

Kylo Ren watched him for a moment, then snorted a laugh. Unable to keep his mouth still, he looked away to smile before turning his head back to Hux.

“Are you so ashamed of what you want?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “I’m not playing with you. I’ve done nothing. Any thoughts that could fall under the iniquity column of your mental logbook are your own. Should I help you? Come here, Arrik.” «Tell me what you want, Arrik, or I’ll let my desires override yours.»

Even in his mind, Kylo Ren held his name sacred, somehow managing to roll the ‘r’s and keep the last syllable soft. It was traumatizing.

Hux set his jaw, his posture still not quite fitting for a general. His hands were still in fists by his side, his shoulders hunched up as if her were preparing for an attack.

«You overstep, Kylo Ren.» It was almost a threat, almost a challenge.

Kylo Ren wanted to hunt him down, he wanted to watch his eyes full of silent fury when he was caught. He wanted to taste blood on his mouth.

«Do I, general?» The tension in the room spat like the tips of a fire. He stepped toward Hux again, the distance between them lessening. He set the helmet down on Hux’s desk with a loud, sudden noise, then let the other man feel it. The heat of the jungle, the sound of the creatures hooting and screaming in trees with dark green leaves so sharp they were edged with red. The smell of loam and slow, inevitable decay masked by the deceptive perfume of huge, carnivorous white flowers with purple veining.

The officer didn’t flinch, didn’t look away from Kylo Ren as the feelings came over him, the sensations of the Other Place, their shared spaces in between jungles and tundra far away from the massive durasteel and glass ship that surrounded them. He said nothing, refused to respond since every word only encouraged the other man.

With the musk of some large predator still somehow pervading the air in the sterile, bare office, Kylo Ren took the final step between them. As he stepped forward, he gracefully lowered himself to one knee, a genuflection that was somehow as majestic as it was subservient. He looked up at Hux, lips parting a moment before he spoke.

“The battle is won, general,” he said in a low voice that was almost a growl.

Hux was not one for sentiment, but the image of Kylo Ren kneeling, without being prompted or asked, made his breath catch in his throat. His eyes widened and he stood still in shock for a few seconds before he reached out, sliding a gloved thumb along Kylo’s lower lip.

He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but this display of self control and presentation had seemed beyond Kylo Ren.

«Perhaps I should allow you a reward,» Hux said softly, pressing his finger down on the man’s mouth a little more. «You have done well.»

Kylo’s dark eyes didn’t waver from Hux’s, looking up at him as he let the gentle pressure of the general’s thumb pull his mouth open slightly. It had been hard to kneel, to make himself go down when he’d wanted to drag Hux closer with the Force. But this could be worth it. It had to be worth it. He was sharp from his fasting, from his victory, from the tension. He was an edge Hux could cut himself on, if he wanted.

«No survivors,» he murmured into Hux’s head. «The Resistance is debris and space dust.»

Hux had been seconds away from throwing Kylo Ren out of his office, at least, throwing as much as he could, when a man was slightly taller, much stronger, and could use the Force. The reminder irked him, but he had Kylo Ren on his knees, offering himself, telling of his exploits.

«And what would you have for such a feat?» Hux shifted so that his fingers curled under Kylo’s chin, gripping him, sliding his thumb into his mouth. «So deserving of praise.»

The leather was a strange texture in his mouth, sliding over his tongue. It was soft and warmed by Hux’s hand inside the glove, fitting against his fingers as though molded to him. A perfect fit.

«Is it for me to lay out what distinction I’ve earned? What does the Order recommend?» he asked, blinking slowly as he raised his chin a little more.

“If I feel like being indulgent, then you will indulge me,” Hux murmured the thinly veiled command. He pressed down on Kylo Ren’s tongue again, his thumb fully against him. “I want to know what you would have.” He wanted to make this important, worth it. Simply enacting his own will without consideration would be pointless if Ren resented him, if the Knight felt as if Hux was abusing this trust, it would never last. Snoke would drive them apart, their ambitions would mean nothing, their power would be squandered.

He needed to know what Kylo Ren wanted before he could decide what he deserved.

It was hard to shake the image of the jungle, the heat of humid air in his lungs. The carefully controlled temperature of the office was slightly chill; he felt it against his teeth when he inhaled.

«I want you to lock that door. I want you to leave your gloves on. I want you to gasp for air. You may fill in the blanks between those statements.»

“May I?” Hux said, scornful. “How generous, Lord Ren.”

It was like a little series of flashes, the knowledge just before the slap. Kylo Ren kept his eyes on Hux’s until the moment before, when he smirked and closed his eyes. He wanted the general to see that smirk and know. Just that half second too late to stop, to avoid doing exactly what Kylo Ren knew he was going to do, was going to allow him to do.

How generous indeed.

The hit landed, and the satisfaction was driven away just as fast. Hux saw that look, knew it, and immediately grabbed Ren’s chin after the slap, forcing Ren’s eyes back up to meet his own. They held each other’s gaze for a few seconds, knowing and understanding passing wordlessly between them.

Hux pushed Kylo Ren backwards, going over to his door and locking it with a security pass so high that only he could disable it. Turning back to Kylo Ren he took off his cap, and undid his jacket, tossing it carelessly over his desk, knowing that it would wrinkle.

He walked over to the man, boots echoing in his modest office. Around his neck his circular ID tags of the First Order had been pulled out from underneath his shirt and they chimed together, held by an easily-broken but durable ball chain. «Disrobe.»

Kylo didn’t say anything, but he let Hux feel what he was thinking. That this was happening because he was allowing it, that he could make Hux his at any time. He rose to his feet slowly, pulling off his gloves and dropping them to the floor; they were soundless as leaves falling. It was easier to undo the clasps on his tight jacket with bare fingers, to undo the snaps along the asymmetrical front before unwinding the belt three times before dropping its length, then the jacket joined the gloves and belt on the floor.

“Is that enough?” He stood in his thin black undershirt and trousers, watching the general as he walked.

“I can’t fuck you through your basics, Lord Ren,” Hux murmured, going over to him and pulling on Kylo’s front shirt. “Off.”

“Picky, picky,” Kylo muttered, reaching behind to grab the back of the undershirt and pull it over his head.

«Better.» Hux stood in front of Kylo, his hand against his torso, fingers splayed. He let himself look, felt that familiar want as he slid his hand to Kylo’s hip. Taking a step back, he looked around, suddenly annoyed that the office was so bare. One of the larger chairs in the corner caught his eye, and he threw the image over to Ren; the knight straddling him, riding him hard, looking down, hands around his neck. Hux walked over to the chair, gesturing for Ren to follow.

Kylo paused before following him, watching Hux as he pulled his boots off and dropped them one by one, then took his trousers off to stand naked under the harsh, artificial light. He stood for a moment, long enough to let Hux see him from that distance, before he walked toward him. His bare feet were noiseless on the cold floor, and he kept his eyes on Hux’s the entire time.

Once he reached the chair, he stood close enough to bump his legs against Hux’s knees, making no move to climb onto the chair with him. Kylo Ren looked down at Hux, at the paler face looking up at him with desire and fury, and he reached out his hand to trail one finger down Hux’s throat, bare and exposed and vulnerable as it was.

“Better?”

Arrik felt his mouth go dry. Kylo Ren’s want was spilling over. The man was already half erect, he was flushed and even if he wasn’t saying anything, even if he was acting like he was some glacial thing, Arrik Hux knew that it was all a facade.

He didn’t answer, sending across murmured approvals, appraisals of strength and will, knew that now was not the time to be discreet. He leaned forwards, wrapped an arm around Ren’s waist and pulled him closer, pressing his face against his unwashed skin, mouth open, breathing against his hip.

Kylo Ren looked down at the top of his head, smoothing his callused fingers against Arrik’s perfect hair, down over the curve of the back of his head. His breath came a little harder, a little faster, as he pressed himself forward for Hux. He hand slid down further to grip the back of Arrik’s neck, knowing the fragile bones there. Arrik’s mouth was forced up his torso as Kylo moved to straddle his lap, finally ducking his head to catch Hux’s lips with his own.

The first kiss was slow, indulgent, something that could be mistaken for tender. The second was like two ships colliding. Kylo tasted blood immediately, though he wasn’t sure whose lip had split on crashing contact. He drove his ass down against Hux’s lap, moaning into his mouth.

Arrik wrapped both arms around Kylo’s waist, pulling him close, feeling the tightness in the lean muscles of his back. His hands were still gloved, and he wanted to dig his nails into Ren’s skin, wanted to leave scratches along his back and ass. He made a low noise in the back of his throat as Ren started to rut against him, and together their desires compounded into something immense and necessary.

He ducked his head to bite at Ren’s throat, one hand cradling the curve of his ass, the other wrapped around Ren’s cock. He realized through his haze that he didn’t have any lubricant in his office and growled against Ren’s neck, baring his teeth.

“Poor planning, Arrik,” Kylo gasped quietly, leaning his head to the side to allow for the general’s teeth on his skin. He laughed under his breath, mocking enough to raise Hux’s ire. He liked him angry. He liked him full of life and lust and power.

The General drew blood, growling. He slapped Kylo’s ass and pulled him closer, twisting his hand around him cruelly. He didn’t bother to get defensive, setting his feet on the ground and pushing his hips up. «Should I have you anyway?» Hux asked, sending thoughts of Kylo sucking him off, sucking on his fingers, spit-slick, pushing into the man hard.

As though he could say no now, when they both wanted this so badly and he could feel the general’s erection pressing against him through the stiff fabric of his uniform while he pushed eagerly into Hux’s tight grip.

«Give me what I’ve come here for.» The Knight growled in Arrik’s head and aloud, demanding, on the precipice of violence. «Or I’ll knock you to the floor and take it myself.» He tightened his fingers at the back of Arrik’s neck, then slid one finger down to hook the chain of his tags.

Hux almost wanted to deny him, force Ren into that state, watch him finally snap and laugh as Ren finally took what he wanted. Not now, though.

He tilted his head up, leaning back, and kept his grip on Kylo’s cock in between pleasurable and not nearly enough. He put two fingers in Ren’s mouth, moving them in and out for a few seconds before pulling his hand back and reaching behind Ren, pressing a spit-slick digit against him.

«Go on,» Hux murmured, stroking Kylo’s dick slowly.

Kylo Ren grunted, then held his breath as he pushed himself back against Hux’s finger. Spit wasn’t the ideal lubrication, but he relished the painful stretch of it, making himself relax tight muscles to make it easier.

«Tighten your hand,» Kylo commanded him, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself down, then he tensed his thighs as he pulled himself up again.

Hux did as he was asked, leaning forward, letting go of Kylo’s cock and putting that arm around his waist. He pressed his mouth against the Knight’s chest, lips barely touching one of his nipples. It was all wordless, appreciation, want, anger, control, he didn’t bother trying to filter his thoughts, and he started to move his hand with Kylo, feeling the tightness there, the rough slip of his leather glove inside the man.

There was no need to be quiet, to muffle himself here. He groaned as he felt the addition of the general’s middle finger, closing his eyes tightly and winding the back of the chain on Hux’s neck around and around his hand.

«Don’t break that,» Hux warned, spreading Kylo open with two fingers, pulling his hand back and twisting his wrist. He enjoyed this, his mouth against Kylo’s chest, feeling the unsteady rise and fall, tasting his sweat, the rumbles in Ren’s chest echoing through Hux’s body.

The Knight’s thighs strained against Hux’s as he moved with him. The general was the one who was too calm now, too cool. It wasn’t the chain Kylo wanted to break; it was the man beneath him. He grabbed onto the back of his hair, chain still tangled around a few fingers as he yanked Hux’s head back.

He leaned down to breathe harshly against his ear for a moment before growling, “Fuck me already, Arrik. Stop wasting time.” Still holding his head back, he kissed the general’s mouth possessively, biting his bottom lip hard enough to finally taste blood when he pulled back. It was electric, the blood that kept the other man alive was in his mouth. He ground down against him, not releasing his hair.

Hux was breathing hard, holding him close. He shifted, keeping a hand inside Ren, fumbling with his own pants to pull out his dick, stroking himself. He shifted slightly, making a moaning noise, head pulled back. He swallowed, pulling against Ren’s hand, too hot and straining. This was going to be difficult, it might hurt both of them. Hux shifted slightly releasing his dick to hold his hand up to Ben. «Lick it.»

There was a second of stillness before Kylo untwisted his fingers from Hux’s hair, feeling some of the fine strands still stuck to his skin when he pulled his hand away. Hair, blood, sweat...with just a little more effort, he could have all the things to play with some of the Sith magic he’d found in those old texts. The thought made him smile thinly.

He leaned down slightly, grabbing onto Hux’s wrist to hold his hand in place. He took the tip of Hux’s index finger into his mouth and bit down hard, grip tightening on him to keep him from pulling away when his arm tightened. He smiled and met his eyes, then licked his gloved palm, talking the leather, the day, and the man’s own sweat.

Hux hummed, pressing his mouth against Kylo’s jaw reaching down to stroke himself with the slick hand. He shifted slightly, hand still inside Kylo, and lifted the man’s ass up. He slid his fingers out of Kylo and placed the head of his cock against Kylo’s entrance.

«Slow,» Hux murmured, leaning forward, flushed and breathing hard.

Kylo closed his eyes in anticipation of the act, taking a deep breath. There was part of him that wanted it to hurt, that knew how to work with pain now and turn it into other things, like power and pleasure. He didn’t bother to respond to Hux’s urging (was he reminding him? Asking him?), he pushed himself down onto Hux, making a throaty noise at the intense sensation.

Hux shifted in the chair, setting his feet on the ground as Kylo slowly started to fuck himself on Hux’s cock. He wrapped an arm around Kylo’s waist, his other hand on Kylo’s hip, face still pressed against Kylo’s neck. He squeezed the man’s hip and guided Kylo, digging his fingers into the curve of his muscle there. Kylo growled as he lowered his head, gritting his teeth as he let himself create the rhythm, building it up unsteadily at first. It hurt, and he needed that after the fight. Everything there had been distant; he had the adrenaline but not the muscle fatigue, not the blood, not the dirt. He needed this.

Hux shifted and dug his fingers into Kylo’s hip. He leaned forwards and bit down on Kylo’s shoulder muffling his own moans as Kylo’s tight heat around him. The hurt wasn’t much, it was a rough slide, a hard friction that was pleasurable and painful. He swallowed and shifted his hips upwards, into Kylo.

«If you need it, take it.»

The Knight half-yelled as he sat back into the movements, holding onto Hux’s shoulders. His fingernails bit into the back of Hux’s shoulders. He wanted to get at skin, really. He wanted to rake his nails against Arrik’s bare skin, leaving long, ragged gashes in perpendicular lines on the man’s shoulder blades.

He didn’t even need Arrik to move. He took his own pleasure, at his own rough, slightly erratic speed as he rode Hux’s cock.

Arrik gasped, shifted to hold onto Kylo with one arm and the chair with his other hand, moving with Kylo. It was rough, it hurt, but he was so tight and full of need, so wanting and open and raw. Their minds were close, their bodies together, it was impossible not to feel what Kylo felt, that enflamed desire, that thrill.

The chase came back, that feeling of victory, taking, success, the power Kylo felt, what he wanted from Arrik. They were together, riding each other, Arrik’s hips jutting upwards into Kylo as the man flexed above him.

Kylo felt Arrik breathing hard against the side of his neck and it was too much stimulation to hear him, to feel him. He gripped the back of his neck again, then his fingers wound the chain of his tags around his hand with a movement that seemed instinctual and practiced. He moaned when the chain was taut around the general’s throat, pulling on it again to hear that catch of air when he started to choke.

The chain pressed into the flesh of Hux’s neck, but it wasn’t made to be a hazard in a fight. With only a little more pressure, the chain snapped and Kylo Ren was left holding the twisted chain and dangling circular tags in one hand. He moaned in frustration, Arrik’s hot breath against his bare shoulder. He closed his hand behind Hux’s head, feeling the balls of the chain against his palm as he concentrated the Force to carry out his will instead. It closed around Arrik’s throat with an invisible, inescapable hand and began to cut off his air.

Arrik knew that they were sharing control in between the two of them, that as he fucked Ren, the Knight choked him. His fingers dug into Ren’s hip and Arrik felt Ren’s Force around his throat. He leaned his head back, mouth open, spreading his legs and pulling Ren down onto his cock.

Even as Ren allowed Arrik to control him, Arrik was allowing Ren to choke him, drive the breath from him, making it so that he just barely had enough air with each gasp. Arrik’s eyelids fluttered over his eyes, and he reached for Ren’s large cock, sliding his gloved hand over the shaft. He didn’t think about rhythm, matching Ren’s movements, lost in the roughly painful sensation of own cock inside Ren and the hands around his throat and in his hair and on his chest.

Listening to Hux gasp for air sent Kylo to the brink. Here they were in this small metal box of the general’s office, but it barely contained them. He sent him that heat again, that feral animal musk of the jungle, making the chilly room suddenly hot and humid with their sweat and late afternoon rains Hux had never felt. He grit his teeth and lowered his head as he pushed himself down onto Arrik, onto the center of heat that they had now between them. The muscles in his lower back tensed and he had to remember to ease up with the pressure on Arrik’s throat before he did actual damage.

Arrik tightened his grip around Ren, feeling too hot within and without. He managed to mumble Ren’s name, at the same time sending the thought clearly across their shared space. He was close, he was going to finish, Ren had wrung him out.

«Stars, finish it,» even his mind was breathless, his fingers leaving bruises under Ren’s hip. He pushed himself into Ren, knowing he was waiting on the Knight’s pleasure, on his whim. His hand pumped Ren’s cock faster, grip tighter. «Close, Ren.»

The leather sliding against his sensitive skin was enough, was too much, even as he knew that wasn’t the name he wanted to hear. He closed off Hux’s throat completely for a second, no air in or out, the general’s lungs the breathless void outside the window. Kylo held himself still for a moment, riding the crest of it, the hush and silence, the edge of it all, breathless, endless, then cried out loudly as his hips bucked forward and he came between them, hot release on his own bare torso and Hux’s clean, pressed shirt. He let Arrik breathe then, leaning his head forward as he heard the gasping intake of air.

Arrik knew, suddenly, what Ren needed, what he wanted. He came inside the man, his throat rough, face flushed brightly, even as his lips were pale. There was a choking sound as he finished, his hips thrusting into Ren once more before he stilled, shifting in the chair only slightly.

«Good,» he murmured, ignoring the mess in between them, enjoying the hard press of Kylo’s thighs next to his, the weight of the larger man. Arrik sighed through his nose, too distracted to be annoyed at the loss of his tags, ignoring the tender ache of his throat, his body softening under the Knight. He slid one hand down to Kylo’s thigh, reaching around to hold Ren closer, his other arm around the man’s waist, pulling him near.

«Ben,» Hux’s voice was quiet, something satisfied and bordering on soft, teasing, «some warning would be appreciated, the next time you have such a need.»

There it was, that simply said. His name. Kylo exhaled slowly and pressed the side of his head against Arrik’s. He could register it now, the strange sense of not being in control of himself, even as he was convinced that he was. That was it, letting the dark side of the Force move through him and bend his thoughts. He’d been aware, again, of how easily he could have killed Hux, and that wasn’t the sort of thing he wanted to think every time he looked at someone or touched someone. His body allowed him to feel how tired he was finally, the fight and the adrenaline and the killing power all spent. He inhaled slowly and slid his fingers up the nape of Arrik’s neck, into his hair to hold him just there.

«I gave you warning. I didn’t do you against the main viewscreen, did I?» In his head, his voice was his voice, with no vocoder mechanizing his words.

Hux didn’t push Ben away, shifted slightly to pull out of him, slick and slightly unpleasant. He had ruined this uniform, but suspected that this wouldn’t be the last Ben would defile.

«I suppose I’ll start keeping lube and cleaning cloths around.» Hux spread his hand against Ben’s back, their chests pressed together. «Keep small caches throughout the _Finalizer_.»

«You’re the quadrant’s highest ranking officer. It suits you to be prepared.» Ben inhaled and felt his body, the ache of it, the drain of it, the satisfaction of it. He needed to sleep. Bathing could wait, and he hoped that this light-headedness would finally be taken care of by the Supreme Leader telling him he could break his fast. He pulled his fingers lightly through Arrik’s hair, then frowned when he realized he was holding something. He raised his chin, head still leaning against Arrik’s as he held his hand up to see what he had. He smiled slowly when he saw the dangling ends of the broken chain, the round tags laying against the heel of his hand when he twisted his wrist to see them.

Hux rubbed Ben’s back slowly, allowing the intimacy, the casual pleasantness of it. He made no move to turn away from the man sitting on his lap, no motion to push him away. Ben had done well (so well, so strong, convictions and purpose, singular, incredible, awesome) and perhaps the praise was more than Hux could verbalize and this soft moment would be enough.

«They say ‘Armitage’,» he murmured into Ben’s head, knowing what he had, making no attempt to take them back. «Keep them, if you want. I’ll have to order a new set anyway.»

Ben turned his wrist a little more to let the light pick out the engraved letters. Of course they said ‘Armitage;’ it was his name after all, though Ben found that he’d actually forgotten again. He only ever thought of him as Hux. Or the general. Or Arrik. He had every intention of keeping these, though he didn’t know why. That was sentiment, and stupid sentiment at that. But Ben was a smuggler and a forager and he collected things. He was a collector at heart, though this was the first unique thing he’d gathered in quite awhile. His mind already pictured the snapped chain wrapped around the coupler he still carried in his bag from place to place.

«You have a number on here. Does anyone ever use that?» he asked curiously, eyes still on the tags.

«Only computers,» Hux said, his hand sliding down Ben’s back towards his ass again. He was teasing, comfortable, the emotions shared between the two of them were satisfied and pleased, effectively making Ben seem more calm and Arrik more coy. He dipped his hand along the curve, sliding his gloved finger against Ben’s entrance, smirking, «The chip in back has my information embedded.»

Ben took a slow breath and his eyes closed for half a second, Arrik’s hand taking his full attention. The cool air was drying the sweat on his body and he was aware of every minute sensation.

«So what will this give me access to?» he murmured, lowering his head to kiss the side of Arrik’s neck as he clenched his fist around the tags again.

«Date of birth, blood type, medical history.» The information was wrote, unimportant, and Hux pressed his middle finger into Ben again, his entrance slick with cum as he listed the details. «Next of kin, home planet, ship assignment.»

Ben grunted with mild surprise, then bit into the muscle that joined Arrik’s neck and shoulder. He bit hard enough to mark him, to bruise him, to again leave that secret badge beneath his stiff uniform.

«That’s boring as nerf shit. I was hoping I’d get some sort of secret access.» He took a deep breath and clenched his muscles around Arrik’s finger. «Do I have a number?»

Hux chuckled, letting the feeling pass. He slowly moved his finger inside Ben, enjoying the closeness, the control, how easy this seemed. It was teasing, light, something effortless. Almost unheard of from Arrik Hux. He turned his head slightly, not resisting Ben, letting the Knight’s mouth wander, letting his teeth mar his pale skin. He shifted slightly, getting more comfortable in the chair, setting his feet against the floor again.

«No.» Hux’s voice was like the rain on Arkanis, light and cold and direct, «you are a Knight.» It was a statement full of appreciation, and Arrik let himself think of Ben’s power, humming in the back of his throat. He curled his finger inside Ben, knowing he was raw and sensitive, feeling soft echoes of their need.

«Good,» Ben sighed, though the muscles down his thighs tightened when Arrik’s finger caressed him from the inside. «Fuck, Arrik...you keep that up, I’ll actually destroy this uniform of your’s.» He kissed the mark he’d made, feeling against his lips where he’d actually torn the skin with his teeth.

«Tempting,» Hux murmured, smiling slightly. It may have been contrived and allowed, but it felt nice to have some kind of control over Ben, some kind of power. This was an interaction he wasn’t eager to end, despite the rough start. Arrik turned his head slightly, cheek against Ben’s head, face in his long, wavy hair. He didn’t stop moving his finger, adding the slow drag of his hand as well.

Ben felt his breathing quick slightly again, and he exercised his self-control to calm it. He knew he was letting some of this get the better of him because he’d been obediently keeping the fast the Supreme Leader had imposed on him. Really, he wondered if another erection would make him pass out. Wouldn’t Arrik love that?

«Let me put this desk to good use and bend you over it. It looks like a sturdy piece of furniture. It would leave excellent marks on those sharp hips of yours.» He bared his teeth against the skin of Arrik’s neck, then kissed over his pulse.

Arrik chuckled, shifting slightly to push his finger into Ben until his knuckles pressed against him. «You are not insignificant, and I haven’t been bent in years. We need more time than we have, and more than spit.»

Ben made a noise aloud, the soft exhalation forced out of him as he closed his eyes. What an asshole.

«I get it. You’re nearly a virgin, I’m hung like a demi-god, and you’re nervous. We can reconvene later on. So if that’s the case, move your hand, sweet cheeks.»

Again, Arrik chuckled aloud, low in the back of his throat. He turned his head to press his mouth against Ben, and curled his finger one more time before sliding out of him.

«You’re just trying to affect my pride,» he murmured softly, sliding both hands so that they rested on the curve of his ass, running down his thighs, grip tightening for a second. He didn’t mind hurting, remembered the stretch and the way he felt when he last had a man take him. Arrik was suddenly eager to have Ben, wanted him, wanted it to hurt, wanted to have just enough of a hand in him to make him moan. «I have no illusions about my current state.»

Well fucked, almost happy, unconcerned with the duties waiting for him. Nothing was so insistent that it wouldn’t wait an hour or so.

The feeling was extremely mutual. The victory burned brightly in Ben’s chest, and any lingering uneasiness had been dispelled by their aggressive coupling. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the warm metal nestled in his palm and imagining the letters pressing against his skin hard and long enough to leave an impression. He was comfortable, sitting astride Hux’s thighs with his head against the other man’s and his arms over his shoulders. The comm unit on his wrist buzzed and he groaned with annoyance. Who the hell would be bothering him now?

«I should go.»

«We should both go.» Arrik agreed, making no move to dislodge the man. He was grateful that he had a spare uniform in his office, one that would at least allow him to get to the refresher in his berths without garnering too much suspicion.

“Aren’t you expected back on the bridge?” Ben breathed against Arrik’s ear. The sudden spoken words seemed inappropriate and wrong in the office; the thought made him smile.

Arrik hummed, shifting to sit up a little straighter. “I am. As always.” But nobody would question his disappearance, or assume it was anything other than official.

“Then you shouldn’t disappoint anyone,” Ben murmured, shifting with the general but not actually letting him rise. If he even wanted to. “Get dressed, fix your hair, and go stand on the bridge and give orders with my cum on your skin.”

The general rolled his eyes, digging his hands into Ben’s thighs. “Don’t be fresh,” he said softly.

Ben smiled and bit Arrik’s earlobe before sitting up straight. He arched his back slightly to stretch it, still smiling. “It was just an idea.”

“At this rate I might not get to the bridge until my next shift,” he was joking still, tilting his head to the side as he watched the muscles along Ben’s torso stretch, the power and work there. He let his eyes drift lower, almost admiring, happy to imagine the various ways in which a force user might take him, the ways in which he would allow Ben to have him. He hummed and shifted again, looking up into Ben’s face.

“Up, Ben, I know you have the strength left for movement.”

“Do I?” He watched Arrik’s gaze, catching glimpses of his thoughts when the general was too lazy to hide them. When his comm unit chimed at him again, he groaned in annoyance and finally shifted himself back to stand up away from Hux’s lap. He nearly hid his pained expression; he’d expected the ache of their unprepared encounter, but that didn’t mean it didn’t bother him.

Kylo Ren leaned to pick up his fallen clothes, pulling them on quickly. The message on his comm unit was a notification of an incoming call for him. From Supreme Leader Snoke.

Hux frowned slightly, watching him. He stood up after Ren, feeling his pain and then the trepidation surrounding the communication.

“Who was that?” He asked as he went over to a wall, opening up the storage section. He quickly stepped out of his boots, taking off his clothes with little ceremony and putting on a fresh uniform, even if it was pressed wrong from being folded.

“Oh, just perfect timing,” Ben answered, grabbing his jacket from the floor and pulling it on. He needed a trip to the refresher, he needed sleep, but he wasn’t going to get any of that right now. “I have a call with the Supreme Leader. Coming in now.”

Hux’s eyebrows snapped down as he adjusted the braces along his chest, buttoning up his jacket.

“Now?” He wanted to ask more, he wanted to know why now, what this call was about, what Snoke wanted.

“Yeah, now,” Ben said as he hunted around for his other glove. He had the right one on his hand already. He knew he smelled like TIE fuel, like sweat, like sex. At least scent wasn’t transmitted during a holo call. “Uncanny, isn’t it?”

Hux pulled on a fresh pair of gloves, walking over to the holopad on his desk. Nothing. He swallowed and looked over at Ben. “I don’t need to tell you to be cautious.”

“I think I have that covered,” Ben answered, crouching down to peer until Hux’s desk and retrieving the missing glove. He had no idea how that had even gotten there. He looked over at the other man and raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have any lube...but you randomly have a spare uniform tucked away?”

“Usually when I fuck someone, I do it on my time.” Hux shrugged, going over to door. “Obviously, I know better now.” He smirked, holding onto his pad, easily hiding the fact that he was concerned about this meeting between Kylo and Snoke.

Kylo Ren rolled his eyes as he buttoned up his long jacket, gloved fingers fighting a little with the long, double clasps. “Like I said, if you don’t plan to use this office for that kind of thing, don’t have fuck-ready furniture stationed all over the place.” He walked over to the desk to pick up his helmet.

“Simply because furniture doubles as an applicable surface for fucking, doesn’t mean I utilize every piece so lewdly.” He watched Ben transform, his shoulders set, chin tilted up as he became Kylo Ren. Hux believed that he would meet Snoke prepared.

«Find me after,» Hux said as the helmet slid over Kylo’s face, as the doors opened. «We arrive at Star Killer soon.»

Kylo Ren heard his own surprised inhalation, the first breath he took behind the faceplate. Star Killer. What a name for anything to have. He wasn’t sure if that was a ship, a port, a post hidden behind an asteroid field.

«Star Killer,» he repeated, expecting clarification but not wanting to ask for it. When the helmet locked, he took a moment to toss his heavy, messy braid back over his shoulder. You really need to cut your hair, he reminded himself for probably the thirtieth time.

«Find me after,» Hux said again, walking out of the office and heading back towards the bridge, «be careful.»

«If he offers me a full meal, I’ll betray everything,» Ben joked, waiting another minute before striding out into the ship. To anyone who saw him, he was Kylo Ren. He would stand before the Supreme Leader as Kylo Ren. And he would step onto Star Killer, whatever that was, as Kylo Ren.

Whatever test it had been, he’d passed. Supreme Leader Snoke was full of praise for his battle prowess, his strength of will. And while he still wanted nothing more than the refresher, his bed, and whatever food he could get to first now that his master had told him to break his fast, he did stop in to see Hux. If nothing else, to prove that he was alive.

The next few weeks passed quickly, it seemed to Kylo. He settled back into his routine of training, study, attempted meditation, and short meetings with Arrik. They were careful now, giving every appearance of professional courtesy. And professional rudeness at the same time.

They saw each other occasionally, and so few people knew of Ben and Arrik’s time in the shooting ranges that they managed to find a few hours during the week to spend practicing. It was easier and harder to treat Kylo Ren as if he were just another soldier. The nights seemed longer, annoyingly so, but Hux didn’t call up one of his troopers to warm his bed, and he didn’t wake up with the image of another being under Ren’s hands.

For the General, the arrival at the superweapon couldn’t come fast enough. It was the culmination of all his work, the reason he had been chosen, the reason he had risen. The _Finalizer_ dropped out of hyperspace and turned away from the jump lane, headed outwards, into the Unknown Regions, heading towards the massive First Order base.

Kylo Ren received the notification of a meeting with the general about their imminent arrival and wondered why it was something deserving of a meeting. As he strode down to the small meeting room, he wondered if this would be a series of rules. Hux was a man who loved rules, and this base was obviously near and dear to him. Star Killer. What a name. It seemed like the conceit of a boy who fancied himself a power in the galaxy. When he was fifteen, he would have run around calling himself ‘Star Killer.’

“So what should we cover first, general?” he asked as he walked into the room, doors sliding closed behind him as he walked over to where Hux was sitting at the table with his datapad in front of him. “No spitting in covered walkways? Don’t press any big red buttons?”

Hux glanced up at Ren, gesturing for him to sit. “Nothing quite so obvious. Once you’re on the base, it will seem more like the _Finalizer_ than anything else.”

“That’s disappointing.” Through his vocoder, it sounded even more disappointing. He pulled out a chair and sat down, dressed in the close fitting black clothes he favored for busy days. “Is this more to give me my cylinders and a map?”

“That’s certainly part of it,” Hux admitted. “We have been getting reports of more attacks and recon flights in the quadrant, and Star Killer, while not vulnerable, is being targeted. You may be called on a few times to lead a defending force.”

“I thought the weapon was in a secret location. How is anyone targeting it? Or is the planet just being targeted as a First Order stronghold?” Kylo sat up a little more in the chair.

“Its location is protected, but there have been a few unknown region regulars who have noticed the construction. There was a lot of waste and resources put into the base, and it’s been in development before I was assigned to the project.” He shrugged. “The impact was not insignificant, and we’ve managed to ward off most of the interlopers who pass by, but we don’t want too much information about the base sneaking through cracks.”

Kylo Ren sat back again, shrugging casually. A few regional agitators were nothing to worry too much about. He could take care of a few ships or any spies that made it onto the planet.

“Not a problem, general. When you give the order, they’ll be taken care of.”

Hux almost smiled, his eyebrows darting up for a second. He hummed instead, pushing his pad further to the side. “Star Killer is a fully operational military base housing a massive superweapon. Your status there will still be respected, but until you have a mission, you will be widely regarded as out of place. Most everyone working on Star Killer is an equipment operator, that is their full time assignment.”

This time it was Kylo Ren’s eyebrows rising quickly, but with the benefit of the helmet, the expression was unseen by Hux. He wasn’t exactly sure what was being said to him here.

“I would anticipate any staff working on your weapon to be fully integrated into the program. I assume that my presence is only temporary. There are other areas of the galaxy that need a more...hands-on approach, which is more in line with what I do.” Was Hux telling him not to screw with the workers? Or maybe this was the ‘don’t touch anything’ speech he’d expected.

“Of course, Lord Ren,” Hux said lightly, inclining his head. “I’d also like you to accompany me to the surface, along with Captain Phasma. The _Finalizer_ will stay in orbit above the planet as I monitor the base, although I may be called out to deal with other issues within the quadrants.”

Kylo nodded once, expressionless helmet turned toward Hux as he spoke. “Good. I’d like to get my feet on solid ground. I don’t know how some of your crew can stand it. Some of them have never actually lived planetside. They’ve spent nearly their entire lives on ships.” He’d spent his life traveling, but he couldn’t ever really call a ship home. Though maybe the _Falcon_ had come closest, so many he was wrong even as he voiced it. It just seemed stranger that the younger crewmen he’d spoken to had never actively been planet dwellers. The giant Star Destroyers were like colonies on the move.

“Very good,” Hux said, standing up. He hadn’t needed to call Kylo Ren into his office like this, not for such simple requests and instruction, but he wanted Ren close, enjoyed it when the man acquiesced to even small tasks. “Unless you have anything to ask me, I believe we’re done.” He walked around his desk, picking up the set of code cylinders and holding them out to the Knight.

Kylo Ren looked up at Hux as he accepted the cylinders. He had a thousand questions, but he guessed many of them would be answered when he arrived at the planet and actually saw the weapon for himself. Big guns. That’s what they all wanted, wasn’t it? As though that was the strongest power in the galaxy.

“No, I believe that’s it.” He pushed his chair back and stood, gaining the height advantage again. “I’m sure I’ll have more questions when we arrive. When will we be arriving?”

“Within twenty hours, I’ll send you the schedule. Be ready to depart immediately after your next rest cycle.” He nodded, taking a step back. “I’ll speak to you then, Lord Ren.”

Kylo nodded sharply to Hux, walking to the door. There were things to suppress when they were alone together, and while it wasn’t necessary when there was no one else to see them, the self-control was important. “Until then, general.”

Hux nodded and Ren left. Hux had planned on sharing more information about Star Killer, but he wasn’t quite sure what stopped him. There was something in Ren that was still just a smuggler looking for the next adventure, the next thrill. He hadn’t seemed to understand the scope of the Star Killer project, and Hux doubted that he would until his feet were planted on the massive weapon.

Going back over to his desk, Hux sent along the schedule for Ren, and then sat back in his chair, watching the space pass alongside the Star Destroyer.

After another cycle of rest, Hux met with the Captain, a couple of the Elect, and a significant portion of the brass on the _Finalizer_ to head down to the surface of the planet. The systems of planets around Star Killer had been destroyed after they moved the weapon following a skirmish between the Resistance and the First Order. The view from the bay was limited, showing the frosted planet in the far distance, almost the size of a fist, with a deep gouge running through it.

Hux checked his datapad, annoyed. Late, even after he had warned the man to be on time.

As if his thoughts had summoned the man, Kylo Ren walked through the bay doors at that moment. He had long black robes over his usual clothing; Phasma had mentioned the planet was cold, so he figured he should prepare himself. He had a beat up black leather bag over his shoulder, lightsaber clipped to his belt.

He was basically on time, he figured as he stepped up to the group waiting on him.

«Late,» Hux snapped, even as he bowed, asked after Lord Ren’s rest, and then joined the rest of the group on board the Javelin, the small group of officers and troopers heading to the lounge.

«Barely,» Kylo said casually as he nodded to the group before following the general onto the Javelin. He took his seat silently, keeping his posture straight and his eyes straight ahead. He could feel the uneasiness coming from the others on the shuttle, but he was used to that being a constant reaction to his presence by this point.

Hux himself was drawn into a conversation with some Corporals and Lieutenant Mitaka. Der’wann had been assigned to man the bridge of the ship while the General was on the planet. He didn’t respond to Kylo Ren for a while, and then went over to sit at a chair, pad on his lap. The trip was only a few hours, and as they were heading directly for Star Killer, the base was not visible through any of the viewports

«You should remain at my right,» he said through their connection, not even glancing up at the Knight. «This is a more formal entrance than Arkanis.»

Ben remembered back to arriving on Arkanis. He’d been disheveled and wearing clothes patched a hundred times, nervous and more concerned about where he was going to find food than on any idea of presentation and formality. This was different; he still didn’t know what to expect, but when he walked in for the first time, he would cause others to question their place rather than doing it himself.

He licked his lips beneath the helmet faceplate. The night before he’d asked Sa’marha what she knew about Hux’s weapon, but she hadn’t known any more than he did.

«Formal entrance. I don’t know if there are established rules for whether the general or the Knight of Ren walks in first.» His mental voice was lightly teasing and a little bit proud. He was outside of any rank or authority.

«As the Commanding Officer, I am given the lead position above all others, but were I not present, the honor would fall to you, Lord Ren,» Hux responded, not even looking up from his pad, but his tone was similarly light.

Kylo’s helmet was facing forward, but his eyes were aimed slightly to the left to watch Hux not watching him. «Do I get anything else along with that honor?» he asked. He thought of the general’s tags, the snapped chain wound around the broken shaft of the piece reserved for the _Falcon_ that he still carried with him.

«Your pick of trooper bed warmers, fine whiskey, a larger berth, command of the superweapon, the ability to commandeer any TIE fighter you wanted.» Hux listed, allowing himself to indulge in levity. «On occasion you’re even permitted time to yourself.»

«Well, I guess if you’re ever looking for a vacation, I could step in and take over for a little bit while you’re off getting sunburned on a beach somewhere.» He rolled one should and watched Mitaka jerk as though he was about to be struck. Wow. You destroy a room in front of someone once, and they just never let you live it down.

Hux hummed slightly, almost a vibration across their connection, and tamped down a smirk. «Lord Ren, stop harassing my Lieutenant.»

«I didn’t even do anything!» Kylo protested, raising and lowering his boot heel. At the slight movement, Mitaka flinched again and the Knight rolled his eyes. Of course, the expression was lost to everyone else aboard the shuttle.

Hux hid his amusement well but didn't respond. The hour passed uneventfully and as the shuttle dipped into atmospheric space, he gathered his greatcoat around his shoulders and walked with the rest of the party towards the ramp. The officers, captain and knight had all arranged themselves and he couldn't help the surge of pride and satisfaction that rose up. He let Kylo in, let him feel those bright things he held precious.

The shuttle flew into an open landing bay and the ceiling began to close above the Javelin as the ramp lowered. As Hux and his impressive entourage left the shuttle, he watched as a full legion of stormtroopers stood immediately at attention, snapping their heels together and saluting General Hux as he walked through the landing bay.

He resisted the urge to glance at Ren, and instead walked purposefully through the ranks, the General inspecting his legion, the engineer looking upon his masterwork. He had written some of the code to this machine himself, had injected his own blood into the programming, had bled as his hands chapped from the cold of the metal base they stood on. He had made himself a part of Star Killer, and it clung to him like destiny.

Kylo Ren walked to his right, as he’d been instructed. His long black robes barely brushed the floor as he made his way through the landing bay, feeling the awe from the stormtroopers, the pride from the man by his side and…

He frowned slightly and pushed his shoulders back, trying to shake a sensation he couldn’t identify. There was something hollow about this place, something empty. He could feel the hum of generators and machinery all around him, the buzz of the lifestream in the Force that swelled to include all the operators and stormtroopers and officers on this cold planet. But there was nothing else. The planet felt dead.

After their arrival the officers had taken leave, a few to retire, another called to duties elsewhere in the base. Hux had been given another datapad full of reports, and he had dismissed most of the retinue, preferring to spend time alone with the information.

Kylo Ren swallowed and continued to follow Hux through the halls, glancing around and taking in the base. Hux had been right; it was built with the same sharp angles and dark durasteel walls and archways. The feeling of emptiness didn’t abate as they walked, even as he observed groups of workers making their busy way through the walkways before disappearing from sight.

«Arrik,» he finally spoke into his mind, voice uncharacteristically hushed. «What planet is this? Where do you keep the weapon?»

Hux frowned slightly, looking over at Kylo. They were alone, and he was leading Ren to his quarters on base.

«This is the weapon,» he said simply. They made their way to a higher level, where the officer’s quarters had windows that looked out on the desolate tundra, the rocky outcropping perched over the giant chasm that ringed the planet, the base, the weapon. There was no true name for this place other than the name that Hux had given it, the name that would echo for generations, eclipsing the Death Star, the Star Destroyers, the Empire. «We are on Star Killer.»

From looking out over the frozen land that stretched out away from the base, Ben Solo turned quickly to look at Hux’s face. It wasn’t a planet. It used to be a planet. He felt it all then, the dull echoed pain through the Force of a living planet stripped, hollowed, rebuilt. A cyborg planet, a rock shell filled with machinery. He put his hand out to brace it against the window. Behind his expressionless helmet, he licked his lips.

“So you made a Death Star,” he said quietly, glad to have the vocoder modulating any emotion in his voice.

“That’s quite the reduction,” Hux responded, not looking away from Ren, his pad held behind his back. “We have made something much more than that.”

Ben shook his head once, looking back out to the snowy vista, the evergreen trees clinging to life and drawing nutrients only from the surface around the rocks and brittle chasms. He felt as though he was standing on stripped bones.

“How is it more? You’ve made something that can blow up a planet.” He shrugged and looked back to Hux’s pale face, his intense expression. “It’s been done before.” That’s what the First Order did, wasn’t it? Lessons from the Empire. He remembered his mother’s tea, precious seeds taken from her home world that was only memory now.

Hux took a step forward, reaching out to the turn Ren by his elbow, making him look out into the chasm.

“Not just a planet,” Hux murmured, soft, awestruck, almost blinded by his own importance, it was the air of a man he had grown up watching, it was the hubris of hundreds, of thousands, of millions and he drew it about himself like Arkanis fog. “Entire systems, Ren.”

Behind the faceplate, Ben’s eyebrows drew down and he turned away from the chasm to look back to Hux. The man’s face was almost illuminated by his emotion, by a fanaticism and desire Ben had seen glimpses of before but never with this type of intensity. Systems.

“Systems,” he repeated. “This...thing can destroy systems. But...I mean, I can see how that’s an adequate threat. But why would you...do that?” The hesitation in his own voice was impossible to mask. Already he was reeling from the death of this planet. The thought of an entire system suddenly gone, all those lives obliterated, made him sick to his stomach. This wasn’t what he’d thought they were heading toward. Star Killer.

Hux made a noise low in his throat, his grip tight on Ren’s elbow. He focused on the base around them, the enormity of it, the significance it held.

“To bring order to the universe,” he said, sliding his hand to Ren’s back, fingers spread against his muscles, against his spine. “To destroy those who would oppose us, who would threaten us, who actively sow chaos through the galaxy. With this weapon, we will have peace.” He took a step back, turning away from Ren, heading towards his berth at the end of the hall.

“Take all the time you need,” he called back, self-satisfaction and conceit echoing in his words, his thoughts, his bearing, his footsteps. “It is a marvel.”

Ben swallowed as he turned back to the window, setting both gloved hands against the glass. He could feel the cold leaching through, he could feel the death that pervaded the place. Arrik Hux had built this weapon, and intended to use it. Arrik Hux did nothing just for show. He shuddered and closed his eyes, leaning forward until the front of his helmet made a dull sound against the glass.

This was wrong; his nerves were humming with it and there was a battle going on in his chest. Those raw open places inside him were unimportant as he looked into the maw of something that shouldn’t exist. He took a deep shaky breath and turned his back on it all, on the snow, on the chasm, on the dead planet, and watched Arrik’s straight back as he walked away from him. The architect of this place, its priest, its god.

“Wait.” «Wait.»

Hux frowned, but stopped a few feet from his berth, turning back to the Knight. He stood, eyebrows up, pad already in front of him.

“Where is this aimed? What’s your target?” Ben licked his lips in the personal sanctuary of his helmet. What stars will you kill, he wanted to ask. “You’ll have to test it on some asteroid belt or something, right? Some uninhabited system out here.”

“The tests have already been run,” Hux explained, proud and casual, sharing common knowledge, “you may not have noticed, but there are no other planets orbiting this sun. The First Order will eliminate any threat to our purpose.”

“So what’s the threat?” Ben stepped away from the window, one step closer to Hux. “Where’s this thing aimed?”

General Hux watched Ren for a moment longer, letting the tension draw still in between them. It was all taunt lines, the heavy architecture of Star Killer surrounding them, bigger than either of them, driven by absolution and plenary focus. He turned away then, just barely dismissing Ren, and took a step towards his berths, scanning his cylinder.

There was a knowing, an understanding that passed between them, without Hux having to say anything, that occurred even before Kylo Ren had asked the question. They both knew where the First Order aimed, at whose feet blame was laid. The weapon was turning towards Hosnian Prime, and the seat of the fledgling New Republic.

Hux only smiled slightly, radiating power and self-assurance, consummate belief in his own knowledge. He disappeared into his berths, head already turned down to his pad, focused on the problems at hand.

Ben Solo made no move to stop him, hands in hard fists by his sides. There was a faint noise in the room that grew louder, a rattling that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Hosnian Prime. The seat of the Senate. The system that supported it. Billions of deaths rested in Arrik Hux’s smile and he’d been blind not to notice when he’d kissed him.

He yelled in the quiet room, knowing no one would hear him, and if they did, no one would care. He fumbled with the latch of his helmet, yanking it off his head and letting it fall as he turned back to look out over the dead planet.

The light reflected across the glassy planes of snow and ice, and something echoed in Ben Solo’s chest. There was an overwhelming sense of wrong in him and around him, and he knew he couldn’t allow Star Killer to remain so unknown. He had to warn the Resistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> join us next week for the debut chapter of Star Killer![come chat with us on our tumblr](http://tigernoir.tumblr.com/)
> 
> also, a/n "Gods, you’re insufferable" loosely translates to "shut ur whore mouth"


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